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  3. Regional Policy Statement (RPS)
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Image - cover of RPSThe Waikato Regional Policy Statement (Te Tauākī Kaupapahere O Te Rohe O Waikato), or RPS, is a mandatory document that provides an overview of the resource management issues in the Waikato region, and the ways in which integrated management of the region’s natural and physical resources will be achieved.

By connecting people across diverse communities and jurisdictional boundaries, and supporting regional development, the RPS sets the overall regional direction for the Waikato by providing a sustainable framework to help achieve community aspirations over a ten year period.

It provides policies and a range of methods to achieve integrated outcomes for the region across resources, jurisdictional boundaries and agency functions, and guides development of sub-ordinate plans (regional as well as district) and consideration of resource consents.

Read the Waikato Regional Policy Statement: Te Tauākī Kaupapahere Te-Rohe O Waikato

The Resource Management Act 1991 requires all regional councils to produce an RPS for their region and review it every ten years. This second generation RPS became operative on 20 May 2016.

Regional and district plans in the Waikato region must give effect to this document.

This version of the RPS includes changes that have been made since 2016 to give effect to the mandatory requirements of the National Policy Statement for Urban Development 2020 (NPS-UD 2020) and to restructure the RPS to give effect to the National Planning Standards.

Read the Regional Policy Statement online (e-plan)

Please click on the sections below to download sections of the Waikato Regional Policy Statement in planning standards format

Please note that the amendments under Waikato Regional Policy Statement Change 1 are not included in the below PDFs.

To see these changes, please read the Regional Policy Statement online in E-Plan (link above) or the version on our Change 1 amendment information webpage.

Order a copy

Printed copies of the Waikato Regional Policy Statement can be purchased for $80 (NZ)  as set out in the fees and charges schedule. An invoice will be mailed to you with the documents.

Amendments and reviews

Please note the Waikato Regional Policy Statement has been amended and restructured as required under the National Planning Standards (as of September 2022). The old pre-planning standards format Waikato Regional Policy Statement is still available for you to read.

    WRPS Change 2 - NPS-HPL

  • Waikato Regional Policy Statement Change 2 - National Policy Statement for Highly Productive Land - August 2023

    We are initiating a plan change to the RPS that seeks to balance the demand for urban growth with the protection of our most productive land. The plan change will involve identifying and mapping highly productive land areas in rural zones across the region, and capture updates to relevant provisions in the RPS.

    Find out more about the plan change

    • WRPS Change 1 - NPS UD and Future Proof

    Freshwater Policy Review