You are here: Welcome > Part 2 > Plan changes and district plan review
2.5.1 Changes to the District Plan
Any person (in addition to the Council) can make a request to change the District Plan in accordance with the provisions of the 1st schedule, Part II of the Act. The Council will consider whether to proceed with the plan change request and can either adopt it in whole or in part as its own change, or process the application as a private request.
The Council may charge applicants for the costs of change to the District Plan or for the carrying out of its functions in relation to such applications.
2.5.2 Review of the District Plan
The Act requires that a full review of the Plan be commenced within 10 years of it becoming operative. The review of the District Plan will generally take into account the information collected under the District's environmental monitoring programme including the monitoring of the effectiveness of objectives, policies, and rules in the Plan, and monitoring of the effectiveness of, and compliance with, conditions set out on resource consents. If changes to the Plan are deemed necessary as a result of any review, they shall be carried out in the manner set out in the First Schedule to the Act.
2.5.3 Interim Provisions
The Council has sought a range of interim provisions while it prepares a Significant Natural Areas (SNA) Survey. These recognise the importance of ecosystems, natural habitats and landscapes within the Westland District in regard to Section 6 (and Part II matters) of the Resource Management Act. It is the intention of Council that the District Plan provide a scheduled approach to protect all SNA. However, at the present time the Council has insufficient information upon which to identify them. Accordingly, the objectives, policies and rules relating to the clearance of indigenous vegetation will be reviewed subsequent to the completion of the SNA survey. (Refer to Part 4.9: Method “e.”)
