Spatial Plan

The Spatial Plan will create a shared, long-term vision for how the Invercargill District grows and develops over the next 30 years and beyond.

It will be a visual blueprint for the future, showing how different parts of our district could work together. This includes considering where future homes, businesses, infrastructure, transport connections, community facilities, open spaces and other important features should be located.

The plan will bring together information that is often considered separately – including housing, business, infrastructure, transport, heritage, community facilities and the natural environment – so we can make better, more coordinated decisions about the future.

It will help Council plan ahead, guide future investment and identify areas where action or further investigation may be needed.

The Spatial Plan will:

• show where Invercargill, Bluff and surrounding areas could grow and change
• identify opportunities and challenges for future development
• consider future housing needs and choices
• identify infrastructure needs and areas where investment may be required
• help guide transport and other connections
• identify places and features that should be protected or enhanced
• consider areas affected by natural hazards and climate change
• identify priorities for future investment and action
• provide a long-term direction for Council decision-making and planning.

The Spatial Plan will focus on the Invercargill City Council District while recognising our strong connections with neighbouring districts, the wider Murihiku Southland region and the future Murihiku Southland Regional Spatial Plan.

Invercargill has the opportunity to shape its future growth in a way that protects the things that make our district a special place to live, work and play.

The plan will also help position Invercargill to respond to changes in central government direction, including resource management reform, regional spatial planning and proposed local government reform.

By preparing our own Spatial Plan, we can have a stronger voice in shaping the future Murihiku Southland Regional Spatial Plan.

The Spatial Plan will consider six key themes:

City Centre and Heritage
How our city centre and important heritage places can support a thriving future.

Community Values
What matters to our communities and how future growth can create places where people want to live, work and spend time.

Natural Environment
How we can protect and enhance our natural environment while accommodating future growth.

Housing Needs
How housing needs are changing and what types and locations of housing may be needed in the future.

Business Land
Where business and employment opportunities can grow and how we can support a strong local economy.

Infrastructure Readiness
Whether infrastructure has the capacity to support future growth and where further investment may be needed.

Together, these themes will help shape a single, long-term vision for the Invercargill District.

The Spatial Plan will help guide future decisions about where and how development occurs across the district.

It will provide a framework for considering future housing, business, infrastructure, transport, community facilities, open spaces and environmental protection in a coordinated way.

It is important to note that the Spatial Plan is a strategic document. It will not provide detailed designs, immediately change property zoning or change resource consent requirements.

While it may identify potential future projects or growth areas, it does not commit Council to delivering or funding those projects. Individual projects will still require further investigation, consultation, approvals and funding decisions.

The Spatial Plan is being developed in stages, using technical evidence, existing plans and strategies, and feedback from the community and our partners.

Council will work with mana whenua and a wide range of people and organisations, including government agencies, infrastructure providers, businesses, community organisations and neighbouring councils.

The process will allow ideas to be tested and refined as new information becomes available.

We will first focus on understanding what matters to people today and what they want for the future. This will help establish the foundation for the Spatial Plan.

Using this feedback and the available evidence, we will then develop and assess a range of possible options for the future.

These options will be shared with the community in 2027, giving people another opportunity to provide feedback, understand the advantages and trade-offs of different approaches, and help identify a preferred long-term direction.

Throughout the process, we will report back on what we have heard and explain how community feedback has influenced the development of the plan.

Your feedback will help inform the next stages of the Spatial Plan.

We will use what we hear, alongside technical evidence and further analysis, to develop and evaluate possible options for the district.

There will be further opportunities to have your say as the project progresses, including engagement on the options in 2027.

More information, project updates, reports and future engagement opportunities will be added to this page as the Spatial Plan develops.