The Government's RMA reforms have left Canterbury councils with more to digest and discuss.
“As the fastest growing district in the country, Selwyn needs a planning system that supports timely housing and infrastructure while safeguarding our natural environment.
“These changes offer a real opportunity to deliver faster, clearer decisions and reduce compliance costs without compromising environmental standards.
“We’ll take a calm, evidence-based approach and work closely with central government to ensure Selwyn continues to receive the services our growing community needs.
”The council will consider the impacts and opportunities of all the Government reforms across a two-day briefing workshop in January to “plan for change in a way that is practical, balanced, and focused on delivering for Selwyn”.
Ashburton will be taking a similar approach.
Mayor Liz McMillan said the council is now working through the raft of RMA information released this week.
“There is significant change being proposed for local government.”
To help process, the council will be discussing the RMA changes and other recent government announcements at a workshop on Tuesday.
The plan is for the bills to be passed in Parliament in 2026, and fully operational across the country by around 2029.
The reform aims to simplify and speed up planning and consenting, with many activities to be permitted by default or subject to streamlined or standardised processes — reducing the need for individual resource consents in many cases.
As part of the transition, the Government announced existing resource consents that expire before end of 2027 will be automatically extended to December 31, 2027.
