Plan Change 15 | Hamilton City Council

The Plan Change is now on hold, and an extension to make a decision was granted by the Minister of the Environment.

Private Plan Change 15 – Tuumata opened for submissions on 18 April 2023. A summary of submissions and copies of original submissions were made available on 12 June 2023.

Further submissions for Private Plan Change 15 reopened on Wednesday 25 October 2023 to allow people to submit on an original submission not included in the summary of submissions.

Further submissions closed on Friday 10 November 2023.

View the proposed changes on our e-plan

What's Private Plan Change 15?

Tainui Group Holdings (TGH) has requested a change to Hamilton's District Plan to rezone about 68ha in the Ruakura Structure Plan to allow for housing. Plans have been made for about 1200 homes and will enable a range of home designs and pricing.

More than a third of the 68ha site will be set aside as wetlands and swales to manage stormwater. Provision has also been made for a shopping centre and a supermarket. The Tuumata block is located between the Fifth Avenue extension and the AgResearch campus.

The proposed changes to the District Plan include:

Changing the zone from Ruakura Industrial Park to General Residential to provide for a range of housing options.
Changing the zone from Ruakura Industrial Park to Business 6 to allow for a neighbourhood centre.
Correcting a zoning anomaly that applies to Council-owned lane – a small strip adjoining the area in the south will be rezoned from Ruakura Industrial to Knowledge Zone.
Incorporation of a new structure plan for the Tuumata Residential Precinct.
Including additional rules to implement the Medium Density Residential Standards (MDRS).

Timeline

18 April 2023

Submissions open

17 May 2023

Submissions close

12 June 2023

Further submissions open

10 November 2023

Further submissions close

22 April 2025

Notification of extension of time to make a decision

(on hold)

Late 2026

Hearings

Late 2026

Notification of decision

Public notice – Extending time for decision

Letter from the minister of environment

Planning documentation

This includes all the documents and reports that are part of the planning process, such proposed changes, policies, maps, and technical studies.

Request for a Private Plan Change PC 15

Appendix 1 Tuumata Master Plan

Appendix 2 Ruakura Tuumata Structure Plan

Appendix 3A Tuumata Plan Change Provisions

Appendix 3B Amendments to Zoning and Ruakura Structure Plans Figures

Appendix 4 Section 32 Evaluation

Appendix 5 Centre Viability Assessment and Industrial Land Supply Report

Appendix 6A Ecology Assessment

Appendix 6B Watercourse Assessment

Appendix 7 Archaeological Assessment

Appendix 8A Integrated Transport Assessment

Appendix 8B Traffic Modelling

Appendix 9 Geotechnical Report

Appendix 10 Contaminated Land Assessment

Appendix 11 Appendix A Infrastructure Report

Appendix 11 Appendix B Stormwater Report

Appendix 11 Subcatchment ICMP

Appendix 12 Urban Design Report

Appendix 13 Policy Assessment

Appendix 14 Cultural Impact Assessment

Appendix 15 record of Title 844218 Title HCC Strip

Submissions

These are written comments or opinions from the public about a proposed change on the District Plan. They can support, oppose, or suggest changes to the plan. 

Summary of submissions

Public Notice – Notification

Information sheet

Niall Baker

Chedworth Properties Limited

Department of Conservation

Fairview Downs Residents and Owners Association

Fire and Emergency New Zealand

Hamilton City Council

Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities

Transpower New Zealand Limited

Waikato Regional Council

Ministry of Education

Janie Tuhoro

Waikato Housing Initiative

Royal Forest & Bird Protection Society of New Zealand Inc

Further submissions

These are additional comments made in response to the original submissions. They allow people to support or oppose the views expressed in the initial submissions.

Public Notice – Further Submission Open

Public Notice – Re-open for further submissions – June/2023

Public Notice – Re-open for further submissions – Nov/2023

Waikato Regional Council

Kāinga Ora – Homes and Communities

THG Ruakura Industrial Development Limited

Chedworth Properties Limited

Find out more

To find out more about the plan change and planning process, email us at planchange@hcc.govt.nz.

Frequently asked questions

What's a private plan change?

Private plan changes can be used to change or introduce new rules into the District Plan to do things like rezone land or list heritage buildings. Anyone can request a private plan change.

All private plan changes are required to go through public notification, submissions and hearings processes, including the right of appeal to the Environment Court. Council manages the administration of this.