Before you apply: researching and getting help

The Ministry for the Environment gives these guidelines for gathering all the information you'll need.

Forms

Get the resource consent application forms from the Council’s website.

Link to our resource consent application forms

Additional information

You will find a comprehensive list of the information that you must  provide with your application in Schedule 4 of the RMA: 

http://www.legislation.govt.nz.

• The amount of information you must provide is 'horses for courses' - that is sufficient detail to meet the reason the information is needed.
• You must also complete an assessment of environmental effects (AEE).
• The level of detail you must provide is relative to the scale and significance of the effects from your proposal.
• For particular types of consents see the information requirements under the TRMP.

TRMP - Chapter 19 - Information required with land use or subdivision consent applications

TRMP - Chapter 26 - Information required with coastal permit applications

TRMP - Chapter 29 - infromation required with consent applications in, on or over the bed or the surface of a stream, river, or lake

TRMP - Chapter 32 - infromation required with a water permit application to dam, divert or use water

TRMP - Chapter 37 - information required with a discharge permit application

The Minsitry for the Environment has guidance on the infromation  requirements under section 88 and Schedule 4 of the RMA. 

Download the Ministry for the Environment guide on infromation required for resource consent applications 

https://www.mfe.govt.nz/sites/default/files/media/RMA/section-88-guide-final_0.pdf

Affected people

Identify who might be interested in or affected by the activity and how they might be affected

Talk to these 'affected persons'. Ask them to give you their written approval if you don’t want your application to be notified. Alternatively,you can tell the Council why you don’t think they’re affected or why you can’t get their approval.

If this is a coastal permit application involving occupation, usually you must also notify and seek views from any group that has applied for recognition of customary marine title in the area. The only times you don't need to, is if the coastal marine area is owned (freehold, and shown by a Record of Title), or the area is a reserve, conservation area, or national park. 

You can find the list of applicants on the Ministry of Justice website.

Assessment

Provide an assessment of what you want to do against the matters set out in part 2 of the RMA and any relevant provisions of the documents referred to in section 104(1)(b) of the RMA.

The documents referred to in section 104(1)(b) include district or regional plan, a national environmental standard, a national policy statement and  a regional policy statement.

Other information and assistance

Get any other information the Council has asked for. This is often identified in the Council’s plan or on the application forms.

You  may need to show how any other aspects of your proposal are permitted, and also identify if you need any permissions under any other public laws.

Consider if you need to employ an expert (resource management professional) to help you prepare the information.

We can assist you to make informed decisions about your application and avoid unnecessary delays and costs in its processing by ensuring you:

• Understand the process,
• Know how to prepare your application,
• Know who you should be talking to about your project and what expert assistance you might need,
• Identify any issues that you may need to address in your application, and
• Confirm whether you need any other Council consents, permits or licences.

Planning advice is not a substitute for a Land Information Memorandum (LIM). You should not rely on planning advice in making any property purchase decisions. You should get a LIM in to access all relevant information the Council knows about a property.

There are three main options for obtaining information and guidance:

1. Duty planning advice
2. Duty planning advice (complex)
3. Pre-application advice.

For more detail on these options, see below, or download our duty planning and pre-application advice brochure.

Download the duty planning and pre application advice brochure (pdf, 1.2 MB)

We individually tailor pre-application meetings to allow you to discuss more complex proposals in person with the relevant staff.

Consider requesting a pre-application meeting before or at the design stage for the following types of projects:

• Multi-lot subdivision
• Commerical proposals
• Activities in the coastal marine area
• Hazard-prone land
• Requires Council staff input from a number of different departments
• Land use that is not permitted under the zone rules (eg. child care centres, visitor accommodation, petrol stations and animal boarding facilities)

We will advise you of the timeframe for the pre-application meeting, depending on the availability of the relevant staff.

What happens?

• You complete an online pre-application request, telling us as much as you can about your project.
• We will assign a lead consent planner.
• The lead consent planner will gather a team of experts who are most likely to need to contribute advice
• We will set up a meeting with all interested parties, usually within two weeks
• In the leadup to the meeting, the assigned experts will review your proposal
• In the meeting, we will advise you about any matters of concern, or things that will need to be addressed in your application.
• After the meeting, the lead consent planner will provide you with a written record of recommendations and advice.

How much does pre-application cost?

The cost of a pre-application meeting depends on the complexity of your project.

The first 30 minutes of the meeting is free.

The staff costs pre and post meeting are incorporated into the total cost of the meeting.

That time charged for includes:

• preparation before the meeting 
• administration costs and
• any further research or advice (if applicable) post meeting.

We charge on a time-cost basis to recover our reasonable costs. We're happy to provide a fees estimate. For example if we identify further research after the meeting we can give you an estimte of the likley time.  

View our fees and charges

Pre-application is not pre-approval

Council staff will give their professional opinion on the proposal and provide guidance where possible. This includes:

• identifying the key issues and potetential adverse effects to address,
• the level of information and assessment expected,
• possible tensions and priorities identified between competing issues,
• an indication of parameters to make the consideration of your resource consent application smoother and reduce delays.  

The meeting is not intended to pre-empt the outcome of the resource consent process.  We will not be able to pre-determine whether:

• your resource consent will be approved,
• it needs to be notified, or
• it has any affected parties.

These decisions can't be made until you've lodged a complete application and we've received and assessed it.  

Once lodged the application will need to be assessed against the requirements of the Resource Management Act. 

Your must still make sure your resource consent application is complete in its own right.None of the information provided via this pre-application request can be taken as included in or considered as part of your subsequent application.

Request your pre-application meeting

To request a pre-application meeting, you just need to complete an on-line form.

Link to the online pre-application request.

If you're undertaking a major project, such as new urban developments or buildings, 'greenfield' subdivisions or a prominent or strategic development, you may also be able to get help from the Urban Design Panel. 

While you must come up with your design vision and present it to the Urban Design Panel, they will provide valuable feedback on your design response to realise the potential of your site. 

Read more about the Urban Design Panel