Mayor's Message: The Draft Nelson Plan

Last week we launched the Draft Whakamahere Whakatū Nelson Plan for your feedback and you will have received a copy of the Draft Nelson Plan consultation document in your mailbox writes Nelson Mayor Rachel Reese.

The Draft Nelson Plan proposes some key changes to how we will sustainably manage Nelson’s natural and built environment. 

That includes how we manage freshwater, residential growth and intensification, natural hazards and climate change, as well as development in the City Centre – now and for the future.

Once finalised in 2022, the Nelson Plan will provide a framework for managing how Nelson grows and responds to changing pressures, and for managing the use of our natural environment. 

It will set out what we are allowed or permitted to do on our properties and how we use Nelson’s natural resources. 

We’ve had early conversations with communities about what was important to Nelson, and then further feedback from stakeholders in 2020 to help us develop this current draft plan. 

As it is still a draft, the plan is a discussion document that will allow you, the public, to help us develop what the final Plan could look like, and let us know what we’ve got right, what is missing and what we need to change to achieve our aspirations for Nelson in the future. 

We want to create a plan that represents what you believe is important to Nelson, this place we all call home.

The first phase of public engagement on the Draft Plan opened last week and runs until 6 December. 

I strongly encourage you all to get involved by attending one of our public engagement sessions online or at a venue near you.  

This two-month engagement is the first of a three-phase process and there will be another round of engagement early next year on topics not covered in this initial phase.

Now we’ve produced a Draft Nelson Plan, the next step is up to you – your feedback will help focus us in the right direction when it comes to how we develop and cherish this beautiful region. 

You can find out more and have your say at: shape.nelson.govt.nz/nelson-plan