Ashbourne

Project summary

• A residential development, associated earthworks and subdivision, comprising approximately 530 residential units, public open space and a neighbourhood centre comprising commercial activities.

• A multi-functional greenway including active transit nodes, development infrastructure and stormwater management devices.

• A retirement development and earthworks comprising approximately 250 units, an associated hospital, and additional supporting facilities.

• Two solar farms, covering approximately 13 hectares and 25 hectares respectively, with associated vegetation planting and earthworks and associated infrastructure with the potential to provide up to 52,000 megawatt-hours per year, sufficient to power 8,000 homes.

Project location

Approximately 125 hectares of land approximately 1.8 kilometres southwest of Matamata.

Project referral

The Minister for Infrastructure referred the project to the Fast-track on 12 June 2025. The application was lodged on 11 February 2025.

Notice of decisions on application for referral of the Ashbourne project

Completeness decision

The substantive application by Matamata Development Limited was deemed complete on 13 August 2025. The application complies with the requirements of section 46 (2) of the Fast-track Approvals Act 2024. The application was lodged on 23 July 2025.  

Decision on completeness and scope – Ashbourne substantive application (PDF, 93KB)

Competing applications decision

The substantive application by Matamata Development Limited was deemed to not have any competing applications or existing resource consents on 27 August 2025. This decision is required under section 47 of the Fast-track Approvals Act 2024. 

Record of decision on competing applications − Ashbourne substantive application (PDF, 109KB)

The application has now been referred to the panel convener for determination by a panel.

Decision of appointment of panel and timing of panel decisions

On 19 September 2025, the panel convener issued Minute 2. This covers:

• the appointment of the expert panel

• the timeframe for panel decisions for the Ashbourne project under clause 2 of section 79 of the Act. 

The minute can be viewed on the Correspondence page for the Ashbourne project.

Correspondence