Hamilton City Council publicly notified Plan Change 5 - Peacocke Structure Plan under the Resource Management Act on 24 September 2021 and submissions closed on Friday 5 November 2021. A summary of submissions and copies of the original submissions we published on 16 February 2022. Further submissions were invited and this period closed on Wednesday 16 March 2022. Copies of the further submissions are now available.
Learn more about Peacocke, Hamilton's newest neighbourhood at hamilton.govt.nz/Peacocke
Where are we now? What's next?

Now the further submissions period has closed, a report will be prepared on the proposal and a hearing date will be set. The hearings are open to the public and will be conducted by independent commissioners. Submitters that have indicated they wish to speak at a hearing, will be invited to explain your submission and may be questioned about it. After the hearing, the commissioners will make their decisions. Submitters will be sent a copy of the decision including the reasons for it and will have right of appeal to the Environment Court. Decisions will be publicly notified.
Original Submissions
Further Submissions
What's a structure plan?
A structure plan helps guide the development of a new area. It considers things like transport connections (including public transport, cycling, and walking), parks and open spaces, commercial areas, housing style and density, environment and cultural heritage and sets out the best place for each of those activities to happen. It will help us balance the need for housing with social, cultural, environmental, and economic outcomes for our community.
What does Plan Change 5 cover?
The Peacocke Structure Plan was created in 2007 and reviewed in 2012, in full public consultation processes. But a lot has changed since then. With funding for key infrastructure confirmed, and construction under way, the Peacocke Structure Plan now needs to be updated to reflect the outcomes we want for our newest neighbourhood. This includes environmental and urban design best practice and will bring our plan in line with the National Policy Statement for Urban Development and the National Policy Statement for Freshwater Quality, Government's directions for how they want councils to develop well-functioning communities and healthy rivers.
The new infrastructure connections, like roads and pipes, and subdivisions being built mean that Peacocke is already changing. We need to make sure it is changing in a way that reflects the outcomes we all want.
The key elements of the plan change include:
- The rezoning of approximately 690 hectares from General Residential Zone and Peacocke Special Character Zone to Peacocke Medium Density Residential Zone. This will enable up to 8400 residential units comprising a mixture of single dwellings, duplex dwellings, terraced houses and apartments.
- The rezoning of approximately 7.8 hectares from Peacocke Special Character Zone to Local Centre Zone to establish the main commercial centre within Peacocke.
- The rezoning of approximately 3 hectares from Peacocke Special Character Zone to Neighbourhood Centre Zone to allow the establishment of eight neighbourhood centres.
- Increase the Natural Open Space Zone from 16 hectares to 143 hectares. These areas of will include significant bat habitat buffers and corridors outside of the gully network, to join the Mangakootukutuku Gully network with areas outside of the Peacocke Structure Plan Area.
- The rezoning of 14 hectares of Peacocke Special Character Zone to Peacocke Sports and Active Recreation Zone for the purpose of establishing a sports park.
- The area of Significant Natural Area (SNA) will be increase to 58.2 hectares.
- A number of new archaeological sites have been identified and included on the Features Maps.
- The Waikato River and Gully Hazard Area overlay has been amended and a new Seismic Setback area has been introduced to reflect the work undertaken to identify hazards.
- New provisions are proposed to protect areas of significant bat habitat from future urban development. These provisions include controls over fixed lighting associated with urban development as well as a building setback from the boundary of Significant Bat Habitat Areas.
- It will include more details around the location of higher density areas and identification of the indicative transport corridor including proposed public transport routes.
- It identifies the indicative location of stormwater wetlands and areas of future open space.
- It also introduces a new infrastructure and staging plan for the Peacocke Structure Plan Area.
What this Plan won't do
There are some things that we can't change as they are already under way. This includes the alignment of the Hamilton Southern Links transport network, which was decided through an extensive community engagement process over four years. We also can't change developments that have already been granted consent, proposed locations for infrastructure and the location of some community facilities which are currently being designated.
Key features of the plan change
Key elements of the proposed Plan are covered in this document and outlined below. The full proposed provisions are available to view at the end of this page.
Amend the following Chapters:
Amend the following City-wide chapters:
25.2 Earthworks and Vegetation Removal
| Manage earthworks in the Peacocke Structure Plan in a manner that enabling higher density development to occur while considering the natural topography of the Peacocke area.
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25.6 Lighting and Glare
| Manage lighting and glare in the Peacocke Structure Plan within the Significant Bat Habitat Area specifically in relation to effects of the Long-tail Bat.
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Amend the following Appendices:
Where can I view Plan Change 5?
The easiest way to view the proposed provisions is by clicking on the links in the below table.
Helpful links