Exemption granted for Christchurch city noise plan - but changes too late for Te Kaha opening

Friday, 13 February 2026

The Isaac Theatre Royal has created a new live music venue on the stage.

There is new hope for central city bars and clubs in Christchurch seeking a reprieve from late-night noise complaints – but it may not come in time for them to capitalise on the new stadium opening.

Christchurch City Council’s noise plan change - or Plan Change 21 - sought to protect live music venues in the central city from noise complaints, while improving insulation requirements on nearby residential properties.

But last July, the Ministry for the Environment issued a stop notice on plan changes, citing plans to completely replace New Zealand’s Resource Management Act (RMA). To push ahead, council needed to seek a formal exemption.

Christchurch City Council confirmed on Friday that RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop had granted it approval to progress the plan change to the next step.

Mayor Phil Mauger thanked Bishop for the exemption.

“It’s fantastic to get this sign off from minister Bishop given how important this work is to support our vibrant night-time economy,” he said.

Councillor Andrei Moore says delays getting the plan change through would be “embarrassing” for Christchurch.

“The city is on a roll, so district plan rules need to compliment that.”

Councillor Andrei Moore, who previously held the arts and creative industries portfolio, said it was a relief council would be able to get back to pushing the plan change.

But it was “far from ideal” it was unlikely to be pushed through ahead of the One New Zealand Stadium at Te Kaha opening in April, he said.

“What we’ve got is a $683 million investment almost ready to open, and it's been positioned… to support the economic recovery of the central city,” he said.

“But as it stands, the businesses surrounding that investment aren’t allowed to do business in the evening because of our outdated noise settings.”

Getting the plan change across the goalposts was “absolutely critical” in terms of building a vibrant city, he said.

Staff were finalising preparation of the plan change to incorporate the feedback they had received so far.

“I'd really like to hope that we could do it sooner, if possible,” Moore said. But with the consultation, submission, and hearing processes yet to come, it was unlikely.

He feared it could leave the city with “a massive reputational issue”, with bars around Te Kaha unable to play music “potentially for the first year”.

“It's going to be quite embarrassing in many ways,” he said.

“Venues have heard announcements on top of announcements for the last several years on this issue, but don't yet have any changes to the noise settings. So it's a really hard, uncertain time for a lot of them.”

Of the 1400 respondents to last year’s public consultation on plan change 21 87% supported it.

Central city residents were less likely to support it than respondents living in other suburbs, with just 66% in favour. A large cluster in the area around Victoria St did not support the plan, an analysis noted.