Plan Change 2: Housing and Code of Practice

Council has been working since September 2024 on preparing a Plan Change to address housing need in Invercargill. There is enough zoned land to accommodate housing growth generally, but there is existing unmet need for smaller attached medium density housing within a 1.5km radius of the CBD. Amending the District Plan rules will help unlock development to address this.

The hearing held in May 2026 has now been completed, and decisions on the provisions and matters raised in submissions and further submissions were made by an Independent Hearing Panel under delegated authority. The decisions were publicly notified on 13 July 2026. The public notice can be viewed here

The Appeal Period is Open:

Any person who made a submission and/or further submission may appeal the Council's decision to the Environment Court. Any appeal to the Environment Court must be in the prescribed form and lodged with the Environment Court within 30 working days of service of the notice of decision. The appeal period closes on 25 August 2026. A copy of the appeal must be served on the Council via planning@icc.govt.nz

This Plan Change aims to:

• Enable greater density and diversity of housing choice in the Residential 1 and 1A Zones in Invercargill;
• Promote well-designed housing to through changes to objectives and policies and
• Delete references to the expired Invercargill City Council Bylaw 2016 and update to reference the Code of Practice for Subdivision, Land Use, and Development which sits outside the District Plan

To find out more

• An information sheet on the plan change is here
• The public notice of the plan change is here.
• The Plan Change and supporting documents, as well as preferred approach documents, are here
• The summary of submissions and submissions received, as well as further submissions received, on the Plan Change are here
• The notice of hearings and panel minutes are here
• The Section 42a Report is here
• Evidence received is here
• Hearings were held on 20 May 2026. Watch the livestream here.