Environmental / Resource Management
The Ashbourne Fast-track Decision: A Balanced Diet - Some Development Allowed, Highly Productive Land Left Intact
On 21 April 2026, the Ashbourne Expert Panel released its decision, approving portions of the proposed development while declining those components that would have unacceptable impacts on highly productive land.
The Application
Unity Developments applied under the Fast-track Approvals Act 2024 (the FTAA) for multiple resource consents under the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) to authorise a proposed mixed-use development on a 125.5 hectare site at Station Road, Matamata (the Ashbourne Proposal).
The Ashbourne Proposal involved four discrete but connected parts:
Residential subdivision: 518 lots and a superlot supporting a superette, childcare, café, and commercial tenancy node.
Retirement village : 218 villa units, a 70 bed aged care hospital, and supporting facilities;
Solar farms : Two solar farms consisting of approximately 50,000 solar panels, with the proposed ability to power around 7000 homes; and
Open space network : A neighbourhood park and ‘Greenway’, incorporating stormwater conveyance and a shared pathway.
73.8 hectares (58.8% of the 125.5 hectare site) is subject to the National Policy Statement for Highly Productive Land 2022 (NPS-HPL). This includes the areas proposed for the solar farms, retirement village, and part of the area proposed for the residential subdivision and greenway.
The Ministry for the Environment’s advice on the Ashbourne referral application said:
We note that both MPDC and WRC have identified that the project is likely to be inconsistent with the National Policy Statement for Highly Productive Land 2022 (NPS-HPL) as it involves residential development of highly productive land in the rural zone. This is a matter that an expert panel would need to consider when assessing a substantive application for the project.
[emphasis added]
The Decision
After considering all relevant matters, the Panel concluded that the Ashbourne Proposal meets the purpose of the FTAA in some respects but not all. Overall, the Panel’s decision allowed most elements not affecting highly productive land to proceed.
In summary, the Panel determined to:
- Grant the solar farm and greenway approvals subject to conditions.
The solar farms were approved as they qualified for the specified infrastructure pathway under clause 3.9 of the NPS-HPL, and they were designed to allow livestock grazing beneath and around the solar panels. The Panel also found that the solar panels would deliver significant regional benefits.
- Grant, in part, the residential development approvals, subject to the conditions.
The residential development was granted at a reduced scale of 430 lots (approximately 83% of the proposed lots), after excluding areas on highly productive land and making boundary / interface changes.
- Decline the retirement village and the associated approvals.
In declining the retirement village, the Panel noted that
There is no lawful pathway for locating the retirement village on highly productive land.
There is no demonstrated short or medium‑term demand for retirement villages that would justify locating the retirement village on highly productive land, as shown in the evidence accepted by the Panel.
Alternative, serviced sites are available in Matamata on which the retirement village could be located, as also shown in the evidence accepted by the Panel.
The proposed location of the retirement village is inconsistent with both the Waikato Regional Policy Statement and the Matamata Piako District Plan.
Key Takeaway
For future fast-track applicants, the decision underscores the importance of a thorough site analysis. That broader site analysis at the front end of the project should, among other things, determine:
- whether the land is subject to the provisions of the NPS-HPL; and, if so,
- whether an exemption pathway applies.
