2GP hearings begin tomorrow

Dunedin (Wednesday, 11 May 2016) – Hundreds of people will attend hearings over the next 10 months as part of the process to establish a new Dunedin City District Plan.

In September last year, the Dunedin City Council released the Proposed Second Generation Dunedin City District Plan (2GP), which has a new set of zones and rules about what you can do on your land and how it can be developed.

About 1500 individuals and organisations submitted on the 2GP and 866 will speak at the hearings, which start tomorrow and are expected to run until late February 2017.

DCC City Development Manager Dr Anna Johnson says 23 hearings are scheduled, on different topics such as industrial, residential, natural hazards, public amenities and heritage.

Dr Johnson says, “We have tried to organise the various submission points into a logical set of hearings that will enable similar topics to be heard together in a way that works for submitters, experts, the hearings panel and the planners who will provide recommendations.

“As we analyse the requests outlined in the submissions in more detail, and in response to requests from submitters, a small number of submission points may be moved between hearings. The schedule may also need to be adjusted over the course of the hearings if hearings take longer than expected or other changes are required.”

The hearings will be officially opened tomorrow at 8.30am at the 2GP Hearings Centre at 11 George Street. The public are welcome to attend the opening, which will include a piper and a powhiri, before the first hearing begins at 9am.

People who have indicated they wanted to speak to their submissions will present to the Proposed Dunedin City District Plan Hearings Panel – Te Paepae Kaiwawao Motukake O Te 2GP – chaired by independent commissioner David Collins.

The panel's role is to listen to information presented by DCC planners and those wishing to speak to their 2GP submission, including any expert evidence, consider all of the submissions and reports, then make decisions on them. The panel’s decisions can be appealed.

This process applies to all issues apart from designations.

Mr Collins says it is likely the panel’s decisions will be released when all, or a substantial number, of the hearings have been held, due the overlap between topics and the integrated nature of the plan.

The tentative hearings schedule, information about the process, summaries of all submissions and how submission points have been allocated to hearings is available on the 2GP website – www.2gp.dunedin.govt.nz.

The hearings will be held either at the 2GP Hearings Centre or in the Edinburgh Room at the Municipal Chambers.

Dr Johnson says the ultimate goal of the 2GP is the sustainable management of Dunedin’s natural and physical resources.

ENDS

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