The Whakatāne District Plan is scheduled to be fully operative on 21 June 2017, having been approved by the Whakatāne District Council on 8 June 2017.

The District Plan had been operative in part since 13 April 2017, with one outstanding rule relating to kanuka and manuka clearance in Significant Indigenous Biodiversity Sites being under appeal at that time. The Environment Court has now issued its decision on that matter, and the Plan is active in its entirety.

The Draft Plan was originally released for consultation in July 2011, and around 6,400 submissions or submission points and two years of hearings have been undertaken since that time.  Shane McGhie, Principal Planner at Whakatāne District Council, says that making the District Plan operative has been the culmination of a long process, and that process is ongoing.

“Although this is the end of the full review of the Whakatāne District Plan, given the length of time a review takes and the speed of change in the world, the need for a number of potential changes has already been highlighted. The Plan changes identified are being developed and will be the subject of future consultation processes.”