National Policy Statement for Highly Productive Land 2022
National Policy Statement for Highly Productive Land (NSP-HPL) came into effect on the 17th of October 2022. THE NSP-HPL is very prescriptive and this poses a lot of challenges for our District and other Rural Councils around New Zealand.
Please note: We are currently collaborating with other Councils in our Region to form a consistent implementation approach on the NPS-HPL (2022) and we will advise you as soon as we can. |
The NPS-HPL (2022) applies to all land use and subdivision applications on land that is zoned Rural and is classified as Land Use Class I, II or III. More information on this can be found here.
Land Use Class (LUC) maps are available at Horizons Regional Council Maps.
There are also LUC Maps available through Manaaki Whenua / Landcare Research
The NPS-HPL applies to any consents where decisions are made after the date it commences. The provisions of the NPS-HPL commences from 17th October 2022, regardless of lodgement date. This is consistent with RMA practice when applying Section 104(1)(b) of the Act. Feedback from Ministry for Environment is also consistent with our interpretation.
As such all applications would need to provide an assessment against the Policies and Objective of the National Policy Statement for Highly Productive Land (2022). If this is not provided for up front it will be requested under Section 92.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact our team through planning@tararuadc.govt.nz.