Marlborough's new environment plan has seen its appeal date bumped back for the second time in a month, this time because of the government's four-week coronavirus lockdown.
The Proposed Marlborough Environment Plan (PMEP) has had its appeal date bumped back to 8 May. Photo: Scott Hammond / Stuff / LDR
Environment Court judge John Hassan said on Thursday the court would allow submitters three more weeks, or until 8 May, to contest the Proposed Marlborough Environment Plan (PMEP).
The date had previously been pushed back 13 days after the Marlborough District Council failed to upload the "track changes" version of the environment plan until almost two weeks after its release.
"In light of the government's announcement that New Zealand has now been placed at Covid-19 Alert Level 4, and uncertainty over how long such measures will last, the court will extend the period for lodging appeals to ensure parties are not put under any undue pressure."
The judge said the Environment Court was "well set up" to work from home, and would continue to process and accept filings like normal - the only difference being the court currently did not need hard copies.
Marlborough District Council chief executive Mark Wheeler said on Friday morning that the decision, which was not influenced by the council, did not surprise him.
Mr Wheeler said he expected several parties would have approached the court asking for an extension due to the coronavirus outbreak.
"We're quite comfortable with the extension," he said.
The plan brought three of the region's major plans into a single document - a "New Zealand first" - and defined what activities were appropriate in Marlborough's urban, rural and coastal environments.
It was expected the plan would save ratepayers money, as the council would only have to review one plan, instead of three, every few years.
More than 1300 submissions were made on the plan, covering more than 17,500 separate points. Hearings for the plan started in November 2017 at Blenheim's Omaka Marae and finished in April last year.
Principal environment judge Laurie Newhook said the Environment Court was not classed as an essential service by the government, and would not physically sit in court while the Level 4 alert was in place.
He said some remote activity on cases would continue, depending on the urgency of the case, but it was unlikely hearings would be held during the lockdown, "except in the most urgent circumstances".
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