Plan Change 47 - Natural Hazards
Current Status: Decisions on PC47 were formally notified on 4 October 2024. The plan change is now in a 30 working day appeals period.
We’re in the process of updating our District Plan (the rules for land use and development in Upper Hutt) to address the risk from natural hazards. It’s called Plan Change 47 (PC47) and it has three distinct areas of focus:
- The Wellington Fault
- Mangaroa Peatlands
- Areas of High Slope Hazard
The proposed changes impact some properties in Upper Hutt.
Plan Change Update - October 2024
At Ordinary Council on 25 September, Council resolved to adopt all of the Independent Hearing Panel's recommendations on PC47. The panel recommendation report can be found n the table below.
This decision has been formally notified in The Post and on our website on 4 October 2024. The plan change now enters into a 30 working day appeals period. Should no appeals be received, the plan change will become operative on 15 November 2024.
Please see the public notice(PDF, 86KB) for more information regarding the appeals process.
Plan Change Update - May 2024
The panel has formally closed the hearing for PC47 after carefully considering all the information presented to them. They have now commenced deliberations and will deliver their decision on the plan change as quickly as possible.
The hearing took place on 22 April 2024 at the Upper Hutt Civic Building. The link to the recording can be found here.
Plan Change Update - December 2023
During the submission period for PC47 Council received 103 submissions and 14 further submissions. 71 of these related specifically to high slope hazard identification.
Following the submissions, a more site-specific analysis for high slope areas in Upper Hutt has been carried out using new data surveyed in 2021 to provide a more precise understanding of the existing high slope area. As a result, the overall area identified as high slope has been reduced, with existing building platforms excluded from the high slope extent.
This updated mapping has been sent out to submitters who raised site specific concerns. We cannot accept new or amended submissions but we are asking these submitters to let us know if the issues raised in their submissions have been resolved or not, and if they require site-specific investigation to further examine their concerns. We have asked for feedback and site visit requests by January 26, 2024.
Once this process has been completed, we will be able to prepare for a hearing in relation to all issues raised in submissions related to PC47.
Consultation 2022
Consultation for Plan Change 47 – Natural Hazards closed on 4 November 2022, and we received 103 submissions.
Further submissions closed on 22 February 2023. Scroll down for more information, including the background of the plan change and the initial consultation.
Following an early engagement phase in 2021, we called for submissions on PC47. A Plan Change is a public process involving research, evaluation and consultation with our community.
Letters were sent to all landowners affected by the proposed plan change which would:
- Introduce a definition for Hazard Sensitive Activities, Potentially Hazard Sensitive Activities and Less Hazard Sensitive Activities.
- Update natural hazard objectives, policies, rules and mapping that relate to the Wellington Fault.
- Introduce natural hazard objectives, policies, rules and maps relating to the proposed High Slope Hazard Overlay and Poor Ground Conditions Overlay in Mangaroa. The current District Plan provisions do not address these two hazards.
- Update the earthworks and subdivision provisions in relation to natural hazards.
What this could mean for you
- Less Hazard Sensitive Activities are permitted in the Wellington Fault, High Slope Hazard and Poor Ground Conditions Overlays.
- Hazard Sensitive and Potentially Hazard Sensitive Activities in the Wellington Fault Overlay would require resource consent.
- Subdivision within the Wellington Fault Overlay would need to consider the risk associated with the subdivision and fault rupture.
- All earthworks for building platforms for identified Hazard Sensitive Activities would need resource consent in the High Slope Hazard Overlay.
- All subdivisions in the Poor Ground Conditions Overlay would require resource consent.
Check the map
Our interactive online map shows the natural hazard areas. Click on the image below or here and search an address to see how this proposal impacts your property.
| Stage |
Status |
Plan Change Documents |
| Decision |
At Ordinary Council on 25 September 2024, Council resolved to adopt all of the Independent Hearing Panel's recommendations
|
|
| Hearing |
The hearing took place on 22 April 2024 and was closed on 27 May 2024 |
Council evidence report (42a report)
|
| Further Submissions |
Further submissions closed on 22 February 2023 |
|
| Submissions |
Submissions closed on 4 November 2022 |
|
| Notification |
Submissions opened on 5 October 2022 |
Section 32 and appendices
|
Kōrero with us
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact planning@uhcc.govt.nz.
We held a public Zoom session on 10 October where residents were able to ask their questions. A recording of the session can be found here - PC47 Zoom Session - 10 October.
BACKGROUND
We’re in the process of updating our District Plan and will be undertaking a plan change that addresses the risk from natural hazards. It’s called Plan Change 47 and has three distinct areas of focus:
The Wellington Fault
The Wellington Fault is currently shown in the District Plan as part of a 40m wide corridor. As a result of further investigation by GNS Science, the position of the Wellington Fault is now better understood and the location and extent has changed in some areas. You can read the full report here: Upper Hutt City Fault Trace Project(PDF, 2MB).
We are proposing to update the District Plan maps to identify the current understanding of the fault position. This would result in a plan change for the Wellington Fault and other natural hazards, with changes to the rules for development in these hazard prone areas.
Our interactive online map viewer where you can zoom in and see the existing position of the Wellington Fault Band, and the proposed Wellington Fault Overlay in relation to your property is available below.
2022 GNS Fault update
We received an updated report in February 2022 updating some of the fault information in the northern part of the District. This report can be found here: Wellington Fault Revision for UHCC(PDF, 4MB)
Mangaroa Peatlands
We've identified the Mangaroa Peatlands as having poor ground conditions for new buildings due to settlement of the peat soils. This hazard was identified by Coffey Geotechnical Engineers in the following report; Upper Hutt Geotechnical Assessment(PDF, 201MB) (note, this document is very large and will take a while to load depending on your internet connection).
This plan change will introduce rules for new subdivision or residential development within the Peat Overlay. It is important that new development is managed in this area to ensure that future buildings are designed in a manner to address the risks associated with settlement due to the poor ground conditions in the Peat Overlay.
You can access our interactive online map viewer below, where you can zoom in and see the position of the Peat Overlay in relation to a specific property.
The proposed plan change will not impact existing dwellings or buildings. Rather it is focused on ensuring the risk from the poor ground conditions does not increase as a result of future development. This means that new subdivisions and dwellings within the Peat Overlay would be required to go through the resource consent process to determine whether the risk as a result of the poor ground conditions is appropriately mitigated.
High Slope Hazard
We’ve identified the portions of the city that have a high slope hazard. New building platforms in this area have the potential to impact the stability of the hillside. This means that new building platforms for dwellings in this area will be required to go through the resource consent process to ensure that the stability of the hillside is not impacted by development.
This hazard was identified by Coffey Geotechnical Engineers. This hazard was identified by Coffey Geotechnical Engineers in the following report; Upper Hutt Geotechnical Assessment(PDF, 201MB) (note, this document is very large and will take a while to load depending on your internet connection).
You can access our interactive online map viewer below, where you can zoom in and see the position of the High Slope Hazard Overlay in relation to a specific property.
Interactive online map viewer
Click here or on the image below to access our interactive online map viewer where you can zoom in and see the position of the Wellington Fault Band, the Peat Overlay or the High Slope Hazard Overlay in relation to a specific property.
Why are we doing this?
The Resource Management Act requires Council’s to re-evaluate their District Plan every 10 years. The natural hazards chapter has not been reviewed since 2004 and therefore are due for re-evaluation.
The Resource Management Act 1991 and the Wellington Regional Policy seek to undertake a risk-based approach to the management of natural hazards. The proposed provisions introduces a risk-based approach for these natural hazards.
What are the proposed rules?
A set of indicative objective, policies and rules have been developed and can be found here: Indicative-Natural-Hazard-Provisions.pdf(PDF, 307KB),
These provisions have been developed to help impacted property owners to understand the potential new framework that may be implemented. These provisions are only draft and are subject to change, depending on the feedback we receive.
Who can I talk to so I can find out more?
If you want to find out more then please contact us on the number below, our administrator will arrange a call back from one of our planners. If you have any questions, please contact us at: