Canterbury Regional Policy Statement

The Canterbury Regional Policy Statement (CRPS) is operative.

The Canterbury Regional Policy Statement (PDF file,4.03MB) provides the overarching policy direction for regional and district plans in the Waitaha/Canterbury region, ensuring a coordinated development of land use and infrastructure.

The CRPS incorporates several changes that have been made since 2013 which are detailed in the operative plan.

Download the full Canterbury Regional Policy Statement (PDF file,4.03MB)

Review

Development of a new Canterbury Regional Policy Statement has been paused.

Public notification

The plan was publicly notified on 18 June 2011

Submissions

Submissions on the CRPS are closed

Hearings

Hearings on the CRPS closed in March of 2012

Decisions

Council adopted the recommendations of the Hearing Panel in July of 2012

Appeals

Four appeals were made and have been resolved.

Operative

The CRPS was made operative on 15 January 2013.

Current stage

Operative

The Canterbury Regional Policy Statement (CRPS) (PDF file, 3.56MB) remains operative, and the process of drafting a proposed replacement has been paused.

Download associated documents:

Please note: The Guidelines for the Application of Ecological Significance Criteria for Indigenous Vegetation and Habitats of Indigenous Fauna in Canterbury Region was prepared by Wildland Consultants under contract to Environment Canterbury and does not endorse this consultancy above any other for application of RPS criteria.

Schedule of changes

View all related information to Change 1 to Chapter 6 of the CRPS that identifies new urban housing development areas in Rolleston, Rangiora and Kaiapoi.

Change date	Change details
July 2025: Minor corrections	Read the 2 July 2025 Minor Correction to Canterbury Regional Policy Statement (PDF file, 272KB)
October 2024: Housing Development Capacity Assessment amendment	The Canterbury Regional Policy Statement was amended to incorporate the time frames and figures in the March 2023 Housing Development Capacity Assessment. The National Policy Statement on Urban Development (NPS-UD) 2020 requires that local authorities incorporate housing bottom lines for the short-medium term (next 10 years) and long-term (10 to 30 years) into RMA planning documents. Housing bottom lines represent the amount of development capacity that is at least sufficient to meet expected housing demand in the Greater Christchurch urban environment over the specified period, inclusive of a competitiveness margin (as defined in the NPS-UD).
February 2023: Minor corrections	Read the 23 February 2023 Minor Correction to Canterbury Regional Policy Statement (PDF File, 150KB) Read the 16 February 2023 Minor Correction to Canterbury Regional Policy Statement (PDF File, 148KB)
September 2022: Insertion of housing bottom lines in Chapter 6 of the Canterbury Regional Policy Statement)	Objective 6.2.1a in Chapter 6 of the CRPS was amended to incorporate housing bottom lines in accordance with clause 3.6 of the National Policy Statement on Urban Development 2020 (NPS-UD). The housing bottom lines represent the amount of development capacity required to meet expected housing demand in the Greater Christchurch urban environment over the next 30 years plus an additional 15 to 20 per cent to allow a margin for competitive land markets. The housing bottom lines are based on information in the 2021 Greater Christchurch Housing Capacity Assessment. Read the 2021 Housing Capacity Assessment report The amendments are effective from 16 September 2022.
July 2021: Change 1 to Chapter 6 operative	Change 1 identified future urban housing development areas in Rolleston, Rangiora and Kaiapoi on Map A, and inserted associated policy provisions. This supports the actions of the Our Space 2018–48 Greater Christchurch Settlement Pattern Update. To view a copy of the Minister’s decision, the amended provisions and all related documents, and for information on the streamlined planning process, visit the Change 1 to Chapter 6 CRPS page.
July 2019: Chapter 6	On 25 July 2019 a new Objective 6.2.1a was inserted into the Canterbury Regional Policy Statement as required by the National Policy Statement on Urban Development Capacity 2016. Objective 6.2.1a sets out minimum housing targets for the Greater Christchurch area over the medium (next 10 years) and long term (10 to 30 years).
December 2018: Chapter 6 and Definitions for Greater Christchurch	On 19 December 2018 the Canterbury Regional Policy Statement was amended using section 71 of the Greater Christchurch Regeneration Act 2016 to provide for a metropolitan recreation facility at 466-482 Yaldhurst Road, Christchurch.
August 2017: Map A in Chapter 6	In August 2017 the Cranford Regeneration Plan directed amendments Chapter 6, Map A in ‘Greenfield Priority Areas’ in the Regional Policy Statement to provide for redevelopment of the Cranford Basin area in Christchurch.
April 2016: Map 4 of Appendix 5	In April 2016 Map 4 in Appendix 5 of the Regional Policy Statement was amended to show the location of the Avon River Mouth and the Coastal Marine Area Boundary, to reflect changes resulting from the Canterbury Earthquake Sequence.
November 2015: Chapter 8	In November 2015 the Lyttelton Port Recovery Plan (LPRP) directed amendments to Regional Policy Statement to enable recovery of the Port.
June/July 2015: Chapter 11 and Appendix 6	In June 2015, changes were made to the Regional Policy Statement in accordance with Action 46 of the Land Use Recovery Plan (LURP) and sections 24(1)(c) and 24(3) of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act 2011, to enable and support recovery and rebuilding in accordance with the LURP. These changes related to the management of development within high hazard areas and the identification and management of coastal hazard areas.
December 2013: Land Use Recovery Plan for Greater Christchurch	In December 2013 the Land Use Recovery Plan (LURP) for Greater Christchurch made substantial changes to the Regional Policy Statement to enable the recovery and rebuild of Greater Christchurch after the Canterbury Earthquake Sequence. Changes included the insertion of new Chapter 6 and glossary/definitions.

Review - Canterbury Regional Policy Statement 2024/25~~

The Council commenced a review of the Canterbury Regional Policy Statement in 2022.

In November 2024, the review was paused until the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management had been reviewed or until January 2026 (whichever is sooner). At the point the review was paused, a DRAFT Canterbury Regional Policy Statement had been prepared.

Draft CRPS document

Because there has been a significant amount of engagement and consultation undertaken on the DRAFT Canterbury Regional Policy Statement, there is a considerable public interest in sharing the draft documents..

This copy of the draft Regional Policy Statement has not been adopted by the Council for notification and does not represent Council policy. It is being proactively released for information purposes only, not because it has any planning significance. This publication of the draft Regional Policy Statement is not a notification of the draft in accordance with the RMA, nor is the Council consulting on this draft.

Download draft documents:

Next steps

There are several steps to be completed before any proposed Regional Policy Statement is notified, and the content is subject to change before notification.

There will be the opportunity for public submissions and hearings on the content of any future Regional Policy Statement once a proposed Regional Policy Statement is notified. As the draft Regional Policy Statement has not been notified, it has no legal effect and carries no weight and is not relevant to decisions to be made under the RMA (including applications for resource consent, private plan change requests, plan changes and district plan reviews).

Note: No reliance should be made on the draft Regional Policy Statement, and the Council accepts no liability for any person doing so.