Nelson City Council is both a Tier 2 Council and a Unitary authority, described by recently relocated planner Clare Piper as a “small but dynamic Environment”. We’re thrilled to welcome Nelson City Council as our latest NZPI Supporter, a first for Unitary Councils in New Zealand with the top of the South leading the way.
Clare Piper moved to Nelson City Council (NCC) four months ago to take up her new role as Manager of Planning and Development. She says that the move was easy because she’d already developed a relationship with her new team through her active involvement in NZPI and the branch network. Clare approached NCC Environment Group Manager Mandy Bishop suggesting that NCC become an NZPI supporter and was met with surprise that this opportunity existed for local government. Mandy says they realised the Council were already doing much of what’s expected of an NZPI supporter and soon received agreement from the Council’s leaders to proceed with joining a small handful of other Councils who are Supporters of NZPI.
Nelson has everything going on. Clare says that while it’s a small area it’s neighboured by Tasman and Marlborough and is considered the urban centre at the top of the South. She says that while they’re dealing predominantly with urban issues there are plenty of rural planning challenges that planners can be exposed to, partly because of NCC’s status as a Unitary Authority.
Nelson is a desirable place to live, and with that comes the demand for housing. Like Tier 1 Council’s around the country Nelson has taken a future focused approach to planning for housing. In August 2023 Council introduced Plan Change 29 (PC29), an amendment to the Nelson Regional Management Plan. The main objective of this plan change was to plan for sufficient housing in the region to meet future needs. The planning team say PC29 is ahead of the curve for a Tier 2 Council because it follows the NPS-UD process required for Tier 1 Councils in our larger centres.
Nelson is also a city faced with natural hazard risk. “Pick your risk” says Clare of the potential for flooding, slips, coastal erosion and sea level rise. PC29 builds in new provisions for preparing for these potential events.
Clare and Mandy are enthusiastic about the value of Council staff being actively engaged with NZPI. The pair say that the good jobs aren’t just in the main centres and Councils can offer the same professional development opportunities as the private sector. Mandy says that while Councils engage consultants to provide additional advice and support, they can’t just choose what projects they want to work on. “It’s mandatory for Council to do it” says Mandy, explaining that they have to manage the full range of issues that come up. This means that Council planners must provide professional advice on all areas, from consenting through to plan-making. She says that NCC planners need the professional skills to translate issues to elected members and the Council’s senior leaders. Ongoing training and professional development is therefore critical for attracting and retaining the professionals that they need.
NZPI membership is actively encouraged in job descriptions and recruitment of staff. This follows through when planners join the team and are encouraged to work on pathways to full membership and participate in the small but extremely effective Nelson / Marlborough Branch of NZPI.
We are a small but efficient planning team working in a dynamic environment. Training is important and our team know that they work with us and for us. We see that with good uptake of training our team as a whole will be enhanced.
We believe that Councils can be supporters of NZPI too, particularly those smaller Council’s operating in the regions. We’ve seen how NZPI has grown, and the regional sector is seeing increased value in the work of the Institute.
