Good progress has been made with resolving appeals on Variation 2 over the last few months.

16 appeals were originally lodged. These covered a range of sites across the city, and most sought that the sites were rezoned residential. Three of the 16 appeals have now been withdrawn and a further two were resolved following Environment Court-assisted mediation in August this year.

A second period of court-assisted mediation for four of the eleven unresolved appeals is currently underway, with mediation dates in November and December.

The other seven unresolved appeals relate to land that is subject to controls under the National Policy Statement (NPS) for Highly Productive Land 2022. Before these appeals can be resolved, the parties have asked the Environment Court to decide whether site-specific soil studies provided by the appellants may be taken into consideration in determining whether land is treated as “highly productive” under the NPS. A hearing on this issue is scheduled for 11 December. After the Court’s decision on this has been released, court-assisted mediation may be arranged for these seven appeals.

Any appeals that remain unresolved following mediation will proceed to Environment Court hearings.  These are likely to take place in the first half of 2024.

If you have any questions relating to the Variation 2 appeals, please contact Emma Spalding (Senior Planner – Policy) by email emma.spalding@dcc.govt.nz or phone 03 477 4000.