The Manawatū District Council has been reviewing the provisions of the Manawatū District Plan Town Centre Zone (formerly the Inner Business Zone) and Mixed Use Zone (formerly the Outer Business Zone). This project is known as Proposed Plan Change E: Town Centre.

Provisions relating to the Feilding Town Centre were due for review, not only because the Council must review plan provisions every ten years, but also because aspects of the town centre and community needs and aspirations have changed.

Pursuant to clause 8 of Schedule 1 to the Resource Management Act 1991, proposed Plan Change E is now open for further submissions (i.e. submissions on the original submissions that have already been made). Further submissions must be made within 10 working days of this notice and close on Friday 22 May 2026.

Proposed Plan Change E was formally publicly notified on in June 2025 with the first round of submissions (the original submissions) closing on 25 July 2025.

A summary of the submissions already made, and copies of the original submissions can be found in the document library:

• Summary of submissions.
• Copies of the original submissions.

Under Clause 8 of Schedule 1 of the Resource Management Act 1991, only the following persons can make a Further Submission:

• Any person representing a relevant aspect of the public interest.
• Any person that has an interest in the proposed policy statement or plan greater than the interest that the general public has.
• The local authority itself.

Further Submissions must be made in accordance with Form 6 of the Resource Management (Forms, Fees, and Procedure) Regulations 2003.

You may either choose to make a submission on-line, download the form from the document library, or prepare your own submission which complies with Form 6.

Further Submissions can only be made by those persons or parties who are representing a relevant aspect of the public interest, or have an interest greater than what the general public has. You will need to state how you meet these criteria in your submission.

A Further Submission can only be made in support or opposition of points raised by submitter who lodged an submission (see the summary of submissions for who made an original submission).

The content of Further Submissions will be public. The Council is also required to make the name of submitters and their address for service (email or postal address) available in the event submitters want to present joint submissions. Any other personal details you may choose to supply will remain confidential.

If you would like to be heard in support of your submission you must indicate this as part of your Further Submission. You may like to consider whether you would like to represent a joint a submission with those who have made a similar submission. Hearings are public.

A person who makes a Further Submission must serve a copy of it on:

• The Manawatū District Council
• The person who made the original submission to which the Further Submission relates.

The Further Submission must be served on the original submitter no later than 5 working days after the day on which the person provides the relevant local authority with the Further Submission.

Proposed Plan Change E intends to replace the existing Town Centre Zone and Mixed Use Zone provisions of the Manawatū District Plan in their entirety. Proposed Plan Change E also changes a number of definitions used by the District Plan to bring them into line with central government National Planning Standards (2019).

Some of the key proposals contained within Proposed Plan E are:

• Reducing the size of the Town Centre Zone to better reflect the actual extent of traditional shopping area around Manchester Square and several adjoining blocks. The rest of the current Town Centre Zone will become part of an expanded Mixed Use Zone.
• Allowing more than one apartment to be located above or behind shops, offices and entertainment premises in the Town Centre Zone.
• Expanding the range of activities that are allowed in the Mixed Use Zone without a resource consent to include, residential units (houses or apartments), visitor accommodation (e.g. motels), supermarkets, service stations and tourist facilities.
• Removing the need to obtain resource consents for new buildings in the Town Centre Zone if prescribed standards are met.
• Increasing the maximum allowable building height from 9 metres to 12 metres (but with new controls to limit shading impacts on residential properties), and simplifying building design rules in the Town Centre Zone.
• Delete the Large Format Retail Overlay which restricted buildings over 2,000m2 in floor area in the Mixed Use Zone to a single block south of Eyre Street. Large format retail stores will be allowed anywhere within the Mixed Use Zone.
• Clarification that new developments in the Town Centre Zone and Mixed Use Zone must be connected to the Council’s stormwater network or provide for their own onsite stormwater management solution.
• Requirements for new developments and impermeable surfaces to be setback from existing streams.

If you have any questions about Proposed Plan Change E, please email districtplanreview@mdc.govt.nz