About this plan change
The purpose of Plan Change 43 was to provide for greater housing capacity and a wider range of options for housing styles and sizes at medium densities within the existing urban area of the district.
The Plan Change introduced two new zones to the District Plan:
- The Suburban Mixed Use Activity Area, which introduced a building height standard of 12 metres (three to four storeys), accommodating shops and cafes on the ground floor, with apartments or offices above.
- The Medium Density Residential Activity Area, which introduced a building height standard of 10 metres (plus one metre for the roofline), while restricting building height closer to the rear and side boundaries to reduce shading effects using recession planes and boundary setbacks.
These two zones are located in eight areas chosen for their proximity to shops, schools, public transport and access to parks. These areas are in Stokes Valley, Taita, Naenae, Avalon/Park Ave, Epuni, Waterloo, Waiwhetu/Woburn and Wainuiomata.
View the District Plan maps, including new zones from Plan Change 43
View maps of Medium Density Residential and Suburban Mixed Use Activity Areas (PDF 3.2 Mb)
Outside of these eight areas, in the General Residential Activity Area, the Plan Change provided for medium density housing on sites larger than 1400 square metres. There is the potential for terraced and clustered houses, shared parking and outdoor living areas with buildings up to eight metres or two storeys. The Plan Change also removed some of the barriers to developing traditional infill and minor dwellings.
At its 4 November 2019 meeting, Hutt City Council approved the Plan Change, including the proposed amendments, as recommended by the Hearing Panel.
Public Notice of Decision (PDF 99 kb)
Decision (PDF 24.4 Mb)
Medium Density Design Guide (PDF 4.3 Mb)
This decision was been appealed by KiwiRail Holdings Ltd, Woolworths New Zealand Ltd and Design Network Architecture. These three appeals have now been resolved.
Woolworths New Zealand Ltd Appeal
The Woolworths New Zealand Ltd appeal was resolved through a consent order that was issued by the Environment Court on 5 June 2020.
The consent order amended Policy 5E 3.2.
Notice of Appeal - Woolworths New Zealand Ltd (PDF 3.7 Mb)
Consent order on the Woolworths New Zealand appeal (PDF 738 kb)
Design Network Architecture Ltd Appeal
The Design Network Architecture Ltd appeal was resolved through a consent order that was issued by the Environment Court on 31 August 2020.
The consent order amended the following rules:
- Rule 4A 4.2.2 (site coverage)
- Rule 4A 4.2.4 (recession plane)
- Rule 4A 4.2.5 (yards)
- Rule 4F 4.2.1 (site coverage)
- Rule 4F 4.2.3 (recession plane)
- Rule 4F 4.2.4 (yards)
- Rule 5E 4.2.2 (recession planes)
- Rule 5E 4.2.3 (yards)
Notice of Appeal - Design Network Architecture Ltd (PDF 3.4 Mb)
Consent order on the Design Network Architecture appeal (PDF 1.3 Mb)
KiwiRail Holdings Ltd Appeal
The KiwiRail Holdings Ltd appeal was withdrawn on 21 December 2020. There were no changes to the decision on Plan Change 43 as a result of this appeal.
Notice of Appeal - KiwiRail Holdings Ltd (PDF 501 kb)
Environment Court minute on withdrawal of KiwiRail appeal (PDF 57 kb)
| Steps | Status of each step | Related documents |
| Notification for Submissions | Publicly notified Submissions closed | Public Notice of Proposed Plan Change 43 (PDF 35 kb) Proposed Plan Change 43 Volume 2 (PDF 20.3 Mb) |
| Notification for Further Submissions | Publicly notified 24 July 2018 Further submissions closed on 4 September 2018 | Public Notice of Summary of Submissions (PDF 30 Kb) Addendum to Full Set of Further Submissions (PDF 934 kb) |
| Decision | Publicly notified on 6 November 2019 | Public Notice of Decision (PDF 99 kb) |
| Operative Date | Operative in part from 9 April 2020 Fully operative from 23 February 2021 | Public Notice - Operative in part (PDF 112 kb) Public Notice - Fully operative (PDF 188 kb) |
Contact Us
Please contact us if you have any questions about this change.