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Plan Change 1 (PC1) is the bold first step in an 80-year journey to improve the water quality of the Waikato and Waipā Rivers so they are safe for food gathering along their entire length and meet the requirements of Te Ture Whaimana o Te Awa o Waikato, the Vision and Strategy for the Waikato River.

Our rivers show clear signs of contaminants, with increased algal blooms and decreased swimmability. The longer we wait to address these effects, the harder and more expensive it will be to fix. That’s where PC1 comes in.

PC1 changes the Waikato Regional Plan, with rules to manage both point source discharges (such as sewage from towns and waste from factories) and non-point source discharges linked to agriculture. Developed with the community, PC1 allows everyone in the catchment to manage nitrogen, phosphorus, sediment and bacteria in the Waikato and Waipā Rivers.

What is the latest development?

On 28 May 2025, the Environment Court released its interim decision on appeals on PC1. This interim decision provides much anticipated clarity on some matters and has generated more work to do before a final decision is released.

Parties involved in the appeal process, including the council, will need to respond to this decision. Our response to directions from the Court is required by late July 2025.

The Court indicated it will likely reconvene the hearing in September to consider the proposed amendments and consider the need to initiate a process to address ‘out of scope’ matters. As it stands, the Court suggests a final decision could be issued by the end of 2025.

A decisions version of the proposed plan change that considered 1100 individual submissions, was notified in April 2020 and subsequently appealed by a number of parties. It is these appeals the Environment Court has made their interim decision on.

Interim Environment Court Decision on PC1

Plan stages and information

  1. Plan Change 1 in development - 2012 to 2016
  2. Plan Change 1 and Variation 1 notified - 2016 to 2018
  3. Submissions (Plan Change 1 and Variation 1) - 2016 to 2018
  4. Hearings - March to September 2019
  5. Decision notified - 22 April 2020
  6. Appeals - mid-2020
  7. Interim decision - 28 May 2025
  8. Plan operative

Image - Plan Change 1 timeline

Policy and process of development