Local Authority Planning

Please note: The Minister of Local Government Hon Rodney Hide has introduced to Parliament a Bill to amend the Local Government Act 2002:

The Local Government Act 2002 sets out the planning framework for local authorities.

The key documents and processes that make up the framework are:

The planning framework ensures local authorities:

understand their community’s aspirations and priorities (community outcomes)
tell the community what the local authority’s long-term plans are, and how they contribute to community outcomes (through the long-term council community plan)
tell the community the local authority’s short-term activities, and how these will be paid for (through the annual plan)
tell the community whether the local authority did what it said it would do, and what progress the community is making towards achieving its outcomes (through the annual report and community outcomes monitoring report)

Local authorities also have planning responsibilities under the Resource Management Act 1991. To find out more see the Ministry for the Environment website and the Quality Planning website.

Under the Local Government Act 2002, local authorities:

consult on community outcomes at least every six years
produce a community outcomes monitoring report at least every three years (reporting progress being made towards achieving community outcomes)
produce and adopt an LTCCP at least every three years
produce and adopt an annual plan in each of the two years between LTCCPs (when an LTCCP is adopted it takes the role of an annual plan)
produce an annual report every year.

The diagram below illustrates a typical cycle that local authorities follow to develop their planning framework.

Although produced every three years, the information in the LTCCP covers a period of at least ten years.

About Community Outcomes