The Minister for the Environment has granted Waikato District Council a 14-month extension of time to give a decision on the Proposed Waikato District Plan, under clause 10A Schedule 1 of the Resource Management Act. This means that the decision may be made on or before 18 September 2021. This will enable a single integrated decision for Stages 1 and 2 of the Proposed District Plan.
The Minister for the Environment gave reasons for his decision, including that the extension would enable a more integrated decision across the two stages of the plan, the entire plan would be issued earlier than if the stages progressed separately, the integrated decision ensures informed and well-considered plan provisions, benefits outweigh costs, and the plan will deliver on the requirements of the National Policy Statement - Urban Development Capacity. The Minister’s decision can be viewed on the council website.
