Draft Plan Change 2 to the Waikato Regional Policy Statement - National Policy Statement for Highly Productive Land 2022

On this page:

What’s happening? •
About the plan change •
Supporting information

This plan change is required by central government’s National Policy Statement for Highly Productive Land 2022 (NPS-HPL) which aims to protect highly productive land for primary production.

By managing inappropriate rezoning, subdivision, use or development of highly productive land in the Waikato, we can ensure its availability for agriculture, horticulture and other land-based primary production activities, now and into the future.

To help us do this, we are progressing a plan change to our regional policy statement (RPS) that seeks to balance the demand for urban growth with the protection of our most productive land. The plan change will involve identifying and mapping highly productive land areas in rural zones across the region, and capture updates to relevant provisions in the RPS.

Progress has been made on the plan change in-line with the requirements of the NPS-HPL. However, central government has indicated a review of the NPS-HPL, among other national direction, as part of the RM reform (replacing the RMA) through the ‘housing package’. Given the uncertainty, we considered it inappropriate to develop and consult on a map that could be substantively changed depending on the scale of changes made by central government. Therefore, we have decided to place this plan change on hold until we have better certainty regarding the future of the NPS-HPL.

What’s happening?

A change to the Waikato Regional Policy Statement (RPS) is legally required to give effect to the National Policy Statement for Highly Productive Land 2022 (NPS-HPL).

The NPS-HPL requires regional councils to map highly productive land areas in their region and include relevant provisions in their regional policy statements.

Over the next two years, we’ll be working with local councils and tangata whenua to identify and map these areas as well as test our policy approach with communities and stakeholders to ensure we are protecting our most fertile land while providing for development.

We are working to address queries about the implementation of the NPS-HPL for territorial authorities, and this information will be provided on this webpage as part of the frequently asked questions section.

About the plan change

The National Policy Statement for Highly Productive Land 2022 (NPS-HPL) is a national policy developed under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) that came into effect in October 2022.
The aim of the NPS-HPL is to identify and protect highly productive land for land-based primary production, both now and for future generations.
The RMA requires that all regional councils must give effect to NPS-HPL by mapping highly productive land areas and including relevant provisions in their regional policy statements.
A plan change to the RPS is needed for several reasons:
1. There is a difference in terminology – currently, the RPS manages ‘high class soils’ (HCS) rather than HPL.
2. The RPS does not currently have an HPL map.
3. Some of the existing policy direction is inconsistent with the NPS-HPL.
The above changes are required to ensure that the RPS gives effect to the NPS-HPL. Urban development and subdivision is increasingly occurring on our most productive land, so it’s important we are able to balance the demand for urban growth with the protection of highly productive land. The NPS-HPL provides direction for regional councils to identify and locate highly productive land and manage the use and development of this non-renewable resource (for example, rezoning and subdivision for lifestyle blocks).
The Government has signalled a potential refocus of the NPS-HPL, as outlined in their plan for Going for Housing Growth. If confirmed, this would mean that the area of land categorised as ’highly productive’ in the Waikato region could be reduced. The council is currently seeking further direction from central government on these potential changes. Any updates will be provided to the community via our website.

The NPS-HPL applies to highly productive land across the country. This plan change will apply to land in rural zones prescribed in the NPS-HPL in the Waikato region. Land is considered highly productive under the NPS-HPL if it is zoned general rural or rural production, is mapped as predominantly Land Use Capability (LUC) class 1, 2 or 3 land, and forms a large and geographically cohesive area.

LUC class is assessed primarily according to interpretation of the components of the Land Resource Inventory (i.e., rock type, soil type, landform/slope, erosion type/severity, and vegetation cover).

Land that has already been identified for future urban development in the next 10 years will not be affected. More information on the LUC system can also be found in the Land use capability survey handbook: a New Zealand handbook for the classification of land and on the Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research Baseline HPL map.
We will work with local councils and tangata whenua to identify and map highly productive land in our region as well as test our policy approach with communities and stakeholders to ensure what we’ve come up with balances the demand for urban growth while protecting our most productive land, now and in the future.
Late 2022 to mid 2023
- NPS-HPL came into effect (October 17, 2022)
- Review and compare requirements of NPS-HPL with existing provisions
- Initial desktop identification of highly productive land in the Waikato
- Targeted engagement initiated early 2023
Late 2023 to mid 2025 (dependent on the NPS-HPL review timeframes)
- Development of a regional network to discuss how to best implement the NPS-HPL as consistently as possible across Aotearoa
- Collaboration with TAs on Stage 1 mapping – excluding areas already identified for urban development in the next 10 years
- Working with Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research on updating refining the LUC layer for the Waikato region
- Developing a methodology to delineate large and geographically cohesive areas of HPL
- Drafting WRPS provisions to reach better alignment with the NPS-HPL
Mid 2025 and beyond (dependent on the NPS-HPL review timeframes)
- Pre-notification engagement
- Draft regional map of highly productive land and high-level policy approach developed, tested, and refined through further engagement
- Consultation with iwi authorities on draft policy documents under RMA Schedule 1 (4A)
- Notification of plan change
- Formal consultation, submissions, and hearing as per RMA Schedule 1 process
The Waikato Regional Policy Statement (Te Tauākī Kaupapahere o te rohe o Waikato), or RPS, is a mandatory document required under the Resource Management Act 1991 that provides an overview of the resource management issues in the region.
Although it doesn’t contain any rules, the RPS does provide objectives, policies, and methods to achieve integrated outcomes for the region across resources, jurisdictional boundaries and agency functions. Regional and district plans are required to give effect to the RPS.
Any land use change, subdivision or rezoning related enquiries are best directed to local territorial authorities, who are responsible for administering these functions.
You can find the contact details for your territorial authority here: Waikato Local Government.
Although the impacts on freshwater and freshwater availability are key considerations under the NPS-HPL, there is no direct processual connection between this plan change and the council’s response to the Essential Freshwater package.

What are the key provisions in the RPS related to High Class Soils?

Supporting information

The following documents and links provide additional information on the National Policy Statement for Highly Productive Land 2022 (NPS-HPL).

Note, the information for Māori land should be read in conjunction with the high-level overview on the NPS-HPL.

National Policy Statement for Highly Productive Land

Read the NPS-HPL

National Policy Statement for Highly Productive Land information sheet

Read a high-level overview on the NPS-HPL

Information on changing the status of Māori land and rezoning land to Māori purpose zone

Read how the NPS-HPL applies to changing the status of Māori land and rezoning land

Information on what it means for Māori and Māori land

Read what the NPS-HPL means for Māori and Māori land

Baseline Highly Productive Land map

View a baseline highly productive land map based on the transitional definition for highly productive land


Objectives	LF-O4 - Values of soil LF-O5 – High class soils
Policies	LF-P8 – Maintain or enhance the life supporting capacity of the soil resource LF-P9 – Soil Contaminants LF-P10 – Peat soils LF-P11 – High class soils
Methods	LF-M32 – Manage the effects of activities to maintain soil quality and reduce risk of erosion LF-M33 – Soil conservation LF-M34 – Research and advocacy on the life supporting capacity of the soil resource LF-M35 – Pest management LF-M36 – Control discharges to land LF-M37 – Research, advocacy and education on soil contaminants LF-M38 – Manage peat subsidence LF-M39 – Research on peat soils LF-M40 – Advocacy and education on peat soils LF-M41 – Manage the form and location of development LF-M42 – Provision of information