Our Taupō office is closed Friday, 17 January and will reopen on Monday, 20 January 2025. To report air or water pollution, unsafe water activities in or on a river, lake or harbour, or make a general enquiry or information request during this time, we can be contacted 24/7 on 0800 800 401.

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  1. Council »
  2. Policies and Plans

Here's where you'll find our statements of work and our rules, policies, plans and bylaws. 

IMPORTANT NOTE:  The Regional Policy Statement, Waikato Regional Plan and Regional Coastal Plan are all available as e-plans.  You can read all these e-plans online. You will need to select the relevant plan from the list of regional plans available,and recommend you use Microsoft Edge or Chrome as your web browser. All these plans are still available on this site in hard copy PDF format.

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Long term plan (LTP), annual plan and annual report

These plans and report are the big picture of our work programmes and finances - projected forward over the next one to three years, and looking back over the past year.

Regional Policy Statement (RPS)

Our overarching policy. The RPS 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.

Waikato Regional Plan (WRP)

The WRP contains policies and methods to manage the natural and physical resources of the Waikato region. This includes rules and regulations for land use and discharges to air and water.

Regional Coastal Plan (RCP)

The RCP contains policy and methods to manage the allocation and use of resources in the region's coastal marine area (CMA). This includes rules and regulations for activities that may impact on our coastal enviroment.

Regional Pest Management Plan (RPMP)

The RPMP identifies the harmful organisms, pest plants and pest animals in the Waikato region, and states the programmes and rules for managing them.

Regional Land Transport Plan (RLTP)

The Regional Land Transport Plan (RLTP) provides a 30-year strategic view for the development of the transport network in the Waikato region, as well as the supporting policy framework and the programme of transport activities to achieve the region's transport objectives.

Regional Public Transport Plan (RPTP)

The Regional Public Transport Plan (RPTP) sets out the priorities and needs of public transport services and infrastructure to be delivered in the Waikato over the next 10 years.

Freshwater Policy Review

The Waikato Regional Plan and Waikato Regional Policy Statement are being reviewed to give effect to the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Management (NPS-FM) 2020.

Waikato Regional Waste Prevention Action Plan 2020-2025

The Waikato Regional Waste Prevention Action Plan 2020-2025 builds on the earlier 2012-2018 Waikato Waste Strategies and sets out a fresh approach for the future. While focus was previously on minimising waste, our aim now is to prevent waste all together through better design.

Regional Energy Strategy

The Waikato Regional Energy Strategy provides a comprehensive picture of the way energy is used within the region and the opportunities to use energy more efficiently and get more energy from renewable sources.

Policies and plans by topic

Coastal

Transport

Hazard and catchment management