If you’re waiting on the outcome of PC78 for your subdivision or land development in Auckland, read on! Below is a useful summary of where things are now up to (in Feb 2025) and what’s next.
What’s Plan Change 78?
Plan Change 78 is Auckland Council’s intensification plan change- including changes required by the National Policy Statement on Urban Development (NPS- UD) and incorporating the Medium Density Residential Standards (3 houses, 3 stories high etc), also called the MDRS. You can find out more about the background here.
What’s happening
Most of the hearings related to Plan Change 78 (PC78) have been on hold. There are a number of reasons related to this, mainly being:
- A plan change related to what was to be the Auckland Light Rail Corridor. This land had purposely been left out of PC78 as it was to be the subject of a future plan change when the location of the corridor, stations and surrounding land uses were better known. The 2023 change in central government resulted in the new coalition confirming the light rail project was cancelled. This meant that Auckland Council had to go back to the drawing board about how this land should be developed. The investigation work on rezoning this land is still ongoing.
- A plan change related to natural hazards. Following the flooding events in 2023 it became clearer that some areas were not suitable for development, and that more controls on development potentially affected by natural hazards was required. Auckland Council indicated that a plan change was proposed to address these natural hazards issues, and that it would potentially have immediate legal effect on notification[1]. This work is still ongoing too[2].
- Making the Medium Density Residential Standards (MDRS) optional, whereas they were mandatory. This is detailed in the Resource Management (Consenting and Other System Changes) Amendment Bill (Bill) which was introduced to parliament on 9 December 2024.
What’s likely?
It seems likely that either PC78 will be withdrawn entirely (and replaced with another plan change) or PC78 will be partially withdrawn. Any change is likely to include the removal of large areas that were upzoned, as was required at the time by the Medium Density Residential Standards (MDRS). The reasons for this could include:
- Areas affected by natural hazards may not be suitable for more intensive development,
- There is a lack of infrastructure to service the development enabled by the MDRS and PC78 (remembering that Auckland Council was required by central government to rezone these areas under PC78 and that this increased density hadn’t in many cases been the subject of long-term planning, or allocation of funding),
- The Auckland Unitary Plan (AUP) as it stands provides for substantial urban development.
The Independent Hearing Panel (IHP), who are hearing submissions on PC78, have said they will review the situation in early March 2025 and see if hearings on the rest of PC78 need to be scheduled. This is due to legislative deadlines still in play, but Auckland Council have indicated an extension may be sought to the 31/3/2026 deadline or a bespoke arrangement for Auckland[3].
What does that mean?
It continues to be, in our opinion, risky to plan development in accordance with PC78 on the assumption that it will become operative as it stands now. The risks vary depending on each site and proposal, and you should discuss this with your planner at development design stage.
Have a development in mind?
With over 35 years of combined experience processing resource consent applications, including being a current planning consultant to Auckland Council, we have significant experience on both sides of the fence. Get in contact with our experienced team to discuss your next project. hello@planningplus.co.nz or (09) 427 9966.
Hannah Thomson is Director of Planning Plus® and has over 20 years of resource management experience working in both local government and the private sector. This includes five years at Rodney District Council in roles including Senior Planner and Team Leader. Hannah has a wide range of experience including commercial, rural, residential and coastal development and subdivision on small to large scales and appearances at both Council and Environment Court as an expert witness for mediation and hearings. Hannah has assisted Councils with policy development and has also assisted private individuals with submissions to Council.
Please remember that the advice in this blog is general in nature and based on information and advice available at the time of writing. We recommend you get your own planning advice. As with all our blogs this information is preliminary in nature only and we have used our best endeavours to ensure it is correct at the time of writing. It is not intended to substitute for your own investigations or obtaining specific advice from professionals. Planning Plus LtdTM is not liable in any way for any errors or omissions. © Planning Plus Ltd 2025 [1] Auckland Council Memorandum of counsel dated 18/4/2024 [2] npsud-min-2024-12-16.pdf [3] pc78-memo-auckland-council-2024-12-20.pdf
