Review of Tairawhiti's Resource Management Plan under way

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

A review of Te Papa Tipu Taunaki o te Tairāwhiti, the Tairāwhiti Resource Management Plan, is under way.

The plan is the combined planning document that holds all of Gisborne District Council's resource management plans and sets the rules on how the council makes decisions on the natural and built environment.

“The importance of this plan cannot be overstated,” council chief of strategy and science Jo Noble said.

“The Tairāwhiti Plan includes how and where we can build, outlines how we use and protect land, soil, coasts, and freshwater resources, manages the risk of hazards, and enables economic activity.

“It's key to achieving positive social, cultural, and environmental outcomes and affects almost everyone in the district in some way or other.”

The review will happen in two phases and take about eight years to complete.

Phase 1 involves the development of a new Regional Policy Statement, continuation of regional freshwater planning and catchment plans, as well as urban growth and development planning to address growth and housing pressures and implement the National Policy Statement on Urban Development 2020.

Phase 2 involves The Coastal Plan, remaining Regional Plan provisions and finalising the District Plan.

While an official public consultation period has not yet opened, the council says anyone interested can find more information and subscribe for updates on its website.