Section 32 Evaluation Reports | Technical Assessments | Plan Stop and Partial Withdrawal | Other Resources
Technical Assessments
The table below lists technical assessments that have informed Council's District Plan Review.
Plan Stop And Partial Withdrawal
Council has received an exemption to allow the majority of the Proposed Lower Hutt District Plan to continue through the statutory process, and has formally withdrawn all other parts of the Plan.
Read the public notice of the partial withdrawal (PDF 213 kb)
In August 2025, the Resource Management Act was amended to introduce new plan stop requirements for proposed plans and proposed plan changes. This includes requirements for councils to stop proposed district plan processes where hearings have not commenced unless an exemption applies.
An exemption can apply where a proposed plan (or parts of it) meets the specific criteria set in the RMA or where the Government approves a council request for an exemption.
Hutt City Council requested an exemption to allow the majority of the Proposed Lower Hutt District to continue through the statutory process.
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Hon Chris Bishop, has approved this request in full. This exemption allows most of the Proposed District Plan process to continue, including for chapters on:
- Strategic directions
- Residential zones and Rural zones (excluding provisions on highly productive land, which have been withdrawn)
- Commercial, mixed use, industrial, open space and recreation zones
- Special purpose zones (which would apply to the sites of the city’s hospitals, marae and quarries as well as WelTec and the Seaview Marina)
- Energy, infrastructure and transport, including designations
- Risks from natural hazards, hazardous substances and contaminated land
- A wide range of other district-wide matters, including chapters on subdivision, earthworks, notable trees, signs and temporary activities.
However, the Minister’s decision does not apply to some parts of the Proposed District Plan, which have now been withdrawn:
- Historical and Cultural Values – Historical Heritage and Sites and Areas of Significance to Māori chapters, plus related schedules and overlays
- Natural Environment Values – Ecosystems and Indigenous Biodiversity, Natural Character, Natural Features and Landscapes and Public Access chapters, the coastal natural character parts of the Coastal Environment chapter, plus related schedules and overlays
- Highly Productive Land – provisions of the General Rural Zone chapter managing highly productive land
The public notice (above) details the parts that have been withdrawn and provides further information on the reasons for the withdrawal and what the withdrawal means for other parts of the Proposed District Plan and the Operative District Plan.
The online version of the Proposed District Plan (including the map viewer) has been amended to reflect this withdrawal.
What does this mean for submitters on the Proposed District Plan?
For some submitters, this means that the part of the Proposed District Plan they submitted on has been withdrawn, and Council will be unable to consider the changes requested through those submissions. This will vary depending on the content of each submission.
Council officers will contact submitters in the coming weeks with information about how the withdrawal affects their submission, and the next steps in the process, including hearings.
You can read more on the Government's plan stop requirement here:
👉 Minister’s announcement
👉 Fact sheet
Other Resources
- For a copy of the full Proposed District Plan text as initially notified, you can download a ZIP of all the chapters in PDF form (6 MB).
- GIS data for the maps can be downloaded from Data.govt.nz.
- Read the public notice for submissions (PDF 403 kb).
- A summary of key changes in the plan for commercial and industrial developments.