Councils have been blindsided by the Government's call to halt planning work, which they say will have "unintended consequences".

Resource Management Act (RMA) Reform Minister Chris Bishop has put a stop to councils working on District and Regional Plans until the new RMA legislation takes effect.

"Rather than let these pricey, pointless planning and policy processes play out, we will be giving councils clarity on where to focus their efforts while they await the new planning system," Bishop said at the Local Government NZ conference in Christchurch on Wednesday.

The shake-up of the RMA is expected to come into effect in 2027.

Christchurch city councillor Sara Templeton said her council is working a plan change on noise in the central city, which could be placed under threat.

The plan change was about "finding a balance between people living in town and the need for a vibrant nightlife", she said.

"I'd be frustrated if we couldn't do that work with our communities.

"The top-down approach from central government at the moment has had multiple unintended impacts."

Cr Templeton called on the Government to work more closely with councils.

The Kaikōura District Council has been working through a review of its District Plan, which was adopted in 2008.

Council chief executive Will Doughty said the announcement will stifle the council's attempts to make changes to benefit the community.

"We have just awarded a contract to our consultants to work on the first two or three chapters.
"We always knew reform was underway, but we took an approach to respond to the needs of our community, while being flexible enough to review and respond to any changes."

Mr Doughty said the council faced criticism that the "rules are prohibitive", so it was keen to update the plan.

Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher said his council has been reviewing parts of its District Plan, but its efforts were impacted by constant changes from central Government.

"The Government has been signalling changing requirements for a long time, and we wish they would just get on and do it so we can get on and do what we need to do."

Mr Kircher said councils had called on the Government to stop signalling changes ahead of legislation, as it set "unrealistic expectations for the community".

"Once the Government makes these announcements, people expect us to implement the changes, but it takes time to go through the planning process."

Mr Bishop said money is wasted on planning review processes, which is required under the existing RMA.

“The Government will suspend councils’ mandatory RMA requirements to undertake plan and regional policy statement reviews every ten years, and the requirement to implement national planning standards."

Mr Bishop said there will be some exemptions, including private plan changes and natural hazards planning.

LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.

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