FAQs

A plan change is a proposed change to a District Plan, which is a local council's document outlining how land can be used and developed to manage effects on people and the environment.

Although Invercargill City Council has enough residential land to accommodate growth for the next 30 years, most of our housing stock consists of larger family-sized homes. There is a need for smaller homes, located closer to the CBD and other services. 

Our current District Plan rules could be more flexible, to encourage more development of well-designed smaller attached homes, and replacement of older poorer quality housing stock. 

Many other District Plans enable mana whenua to develop papakāinga housing and activities on their land. Our District Plan doesn’t currently do this well, so we plan on making changes to make resource consenting papakāinga easier for mana whenua. 

The District Plan currently refers to Councils expired Code of Practice Bylaw – this needs to be change so the District Plan and Code of Practice are independent documents. 

The District Plan is one of a number of different tools Council has to encourage well-designed housing development in Invercargill. 

We are looking at other changes to improve our resource consent and building consent processes, Council develops and provides social housing, and we engage with Great South, Kainga Ora and other entities to support good quality housing in Invercargill. We are unique to most other Councils, as we do not charge development contributions for new subdivisions – keeping costs low and supporting Invercargill to be development-ready.  

A building consent is a consent issued by under the Building Act 1991 to construct a building in accordance with the Building Code. 

A resource consent is different, and is issued under the Resource Management Act 1991 for subdivision or the use of land (such as for housing, businesses, or industry). When assessing a resource consent councils assess effects on people and the environment. When a resource consent is granted, it will include conditions to manage these effects.

A permitted activity can be carried out without a resource consent.

A controlled activity requires a resource consent - but cannot be declined, except under very limited specific circumstances. 

Restricted discretionary activities also require a resource consent - the consent can be granted or declined, but Council is restricted to assessing only certain matters in making their decision. These are called ‘matters of discretion’.

A discretionary activity gives Council full discretion to grant or decline a resource consent application, based on the merits of the application and its effects on people and the environment.

A non-complying activity also gives Council full discretion to grant or decline an application, and this kind of activity status is generally assigned to inappropriate activities that should be avoided or discouraged (such as an industrial activity in a residential area).

Controlled and restricted discretionary resource consents are typically easier and quicker to approve than discretionary and non-complying applications.

Granny flats are not being considered in the Plan Change as there are separate national changes coming that are intended to enable building granny flats. Once these national directions are available we will provide more information about how these apply in the District.

Whenua Māori is Māori land, and we will be working with mana whenua to define this more clearly through the Plan Change. 

Papakainga can be generally described as communal living for whanau and hapū, and may include activities that are broader than just houses – such as Mārae, community and educational spaces, and small-scale commercial activities. Through the Plan Change we will be working with mana whenua to define what papakainga means for our District.

The current District Plan still refers to the former expired Code of Practice Bylaw. These references need to be removed so the new Code of Practice can be used moving forward.

All land in our district is zoned in the Invercargill City District Plan. Zones help identify what the rules and policies are that apply to your land. Each zone has a set of District Plan rules that regulate land use, subdivision, and development of land. The rules explain what activities are permitted and what activities require a resource consent.

Most but not all residential properties in Invercargill are Zoned Residential 1 or Residential 1A. 

You can look up the zone for your property here. Type your address in the search bar in the left corner. Once you have located your property, the name of the zone is written on the map. You might need to zoom in or out of the map a bit to see the zone name, or you can click on the legend to identify the zone. 

Accessible versions of all of our documentation are available on request to planning@icc.govt.nz or via phone, 03 2111777, or in person at 101 Esk Street. 

You can attend one of our engagement sessions to provide feedback and ask questions.

You can also subscribe to our mailing list using the Subscribe button on this page, and we will keep you updated as the Plan Change progresses. 

The easiest way to submit is online, using the form on this page. Alternatively, you can pick up a submission form and drop one off at 

• Te Hīnaki Civic Building
• Invercargill Libraries & Archives
• Bluff Service Centre

You can also email the Planning Team at Planning@icc.govt.nz