Ashburton Activity Centre
The Ashburton Activity Centre controls were gazetted and came into effect on 22 July 2026.
The Ashburton Activity Centre includes a core and an outer catchment.
The core centred on the Ashburton Village shopping strip allows buildings of up to 8 storeys.
The core height limits are discretionary, meaning the Planning Minister can approve developments that exceed them.
An outer catchment will permit development of up to 3 storeys on most residential lots and 4 storeys on larger lots. Larger lots are generally defined as sites of at least 1,000 square metres with a minimum 20-metre frontage.
The official government map below shows the final Ashburton Station Activity Centre core and catchment boundaries, together with the building heights that now apply within each area.
A substantial area of the catchment covers heritage overlays shown in pink hatching on the map below. The heritage overlays will remain in place but the catchment will be rezoned as HCTZ2 (Housing Choice and Transport Zone) which prioritises housing density and housing diversity. See Heritage at risk.
Map of Core and Outer Catchment
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Source: Department of Transport and Planning (DTP), Riversdale to Willison and Ashburton Plan (June 2026). (Visit DTP webpage).
The Ashburton Train and Tram Zone Activity Centre Factsheet is available here.
Community consultation – What was actually open for consultation?
Despite the Government’s statements about consultation, one minimal change was made between the draft and final Ashburton Activity Centre plans. The more consequential planning controls that will shape future development in the catchment were not part of that consultation.
The building Codes were never open for consultation
While residents were invited to provide feedback on the draft plans, the key planning decisions had already been made. There was no public consultation on the new planning zone or the residential building Codes that now apply within the catchments, despite these determining the future scale and form of development throughout surrounding residential neighbourhoods.
See Government plans → Townhouse and Low-Rise Code and Mid-Rise Code for more information about the residential building Codes that now apply within the Ashburton Activity Centre catchment.
The State Government has repeatedly claimed that community consultation helped shape activity centres. This stands in stark contrast to the experience of those who participated in the consultation.
According to the final plan:
“We heard from the Ashburton community through two rounds of consultation, and your feedback is helping to shape our plan. ”
According to the Planning Minister, Sonya Kilkenny:
“…the government did extensive community consultation on its draft activity centre maps, which led to changes based on that feedback. “We have gone out to community, we’ve consulted with them, we’ve engaged with them,” she said. “They were changed based on feedback from residents.” ”
So what actually changed after two rounds of community consultation?
Looking for more detail? Explore the Government Plans, Concerns, Heritage at risk, Resources → Planning explained and Concerns → Community consultation and engagement sections for further information about how the planning changes work and the issues they raise.