The government's RMA reforms have forced West Coast councils working on a combined district plan to speed up their process and finish a year early.
A stretch of beach on the West Coast (file image). Photo: RNZ/Carol Stiles
Under the proposed Natural and Built Environment Act, there would be one plan for the entire region incorporating not just district plans but regional council plans as well.
The Act is set to come into effect in December 2022 - but the new combined regional and district plan would not be operative until about 2032.
Te Tai o Poutini Plan project manager Jo Armstrong said that meant the work already done on the combined district plan for the coast would have to be included in the new overall plan and potentially rewritten.
The committee meeting in Greymouth yesterday was presented with two options.
One was to keep going with the combined plan on the current timeline and budget until December 2022, when it would become part of the new regional Natural and Built Environments Plan, due for delivery by 2032.
The second option was to accelerate the process so the work done to date would not be lost.
"Fast-tracking plan development provides the opportunity for us to lock in the work undertaken to date, benefiting our wider community across the West Coast, and providing more certainty for property owners," Armstrong said.
"If we have a proposed plan by the middle of 2022, it is likely that we could take advantage of the streamlined appeals process under the Natural and Built Environments Act, saving us additional time and money in the long run."
By combining the next two years' work into one year, over $500,000 of fixed costs would be saved.
The Te Tai o Poutini Plan Committee strongly endorsed the recommendation to accelerate delivery.
Committee chair Rex Williams said that would result in a draft plan being available for community feedback from late January 2022, and the proposed plan being notified in mid-2022 for public submissions.
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