The Strategy and Policy Committee has confirmed its support for notifying Change 1 to the Tasman Regional Policy Statement and Plan Change 81 to the Tasman Resource Management Plan, subject to approval from the Minister for the Environment.

The proposed changes respond to Tasman’s urgent housing and business land needs, aligning with the Nelson Tasman Future Development Strategy (2022) and the recently adopted Māpua Masterplan (2025). Together, they aim to:

• Provide more housing choice, including affordable and papakāinga developments.
• Enable medium-density housing in key towns such as Richmond, Motueka, Brightwater, Wakefield, Māpua and Tākaka.
• Ensure enough business land to support jobs and economic growth.
• Strengthen the role of commercial centres and promote compact, sustainable urban growth.

These plan changes are vital to ensuring Tasman meets its future housing and business needs. They will help improve affordability, provide more choice for our communities, and enable growth in a sustainable way.

The changes have been developed with input from iwi, landowners, key stakeholders, neighbouring councils, and the community. Public consultation earlier this year showed strong support for enabling greater housing choice and intensification.

Under recent amendments to the Resource Management Act, the plan changes require ministerial approval before notification can proceed. The Council will now seek either an exemption or approval to use a streamlined planning process to enable notification.

If approved, the changes will be publicly notified later this year, opening the way for formal submissions.