Planning
If you are thinking about adding to your house, constructing a new building,
relocating a building or setting up a business you need to consider how your proposal complies with
District Plan rules.
Introduction
The District Plan is the plan that sets minimum standards of effects on the environment for the uses and buildings that we require for living, working, for play and transport etc. When your proposal has
effects that go beyond the permitted standards in the District Plan, resource consent is required.
The resource consent process is designed to ensure that your proposal will generate adverse effects that are no more than minor and
are a way of managing the environment in which we live for our future generations.
The Resource Management Act 1991
The Resource Management Act 1991 has the purpose of the promotion of sustainable management of the natural and physical resources. This purpose is delivered via the policies and rules within Regional and
District Plan documents.
The resource consent application is a vehicle by which a proposal is
assessed for it effects on the environment to determine that the District Plan
requirements are being met and therefore that sustainable management is being
promoted.
The Resource Management Act 1991 is recognised as forward thinking in its
approach to sustaining and safeguarding our natural and physical resources for the foreseeable needs of future
generations.
The Resource Management Amendment Act 2003 has made significant changes to a number of key areas including notification of resource consents, designations, section 32 requirements, the Environment Court process and other consequential changes. The Amendment has introduced limited notification for applications for activities with only minor adverse effects so that if affected parties fail to give written approval the matter is heard with affected parties only and the application is not fully notified.
Please contact us for further information.
Where to get information
A free service is offered during normal working hours by our professional planning staff. You can receive answers to general planning questions, an update on how a particular resource consent application is proceeding and answers to queries and advice on the District Plan and Resource Management Act 1991 requirements.
We offer a range of ways to get information. These include:
- Contact us by phone, facsimile or
- Come to our front counter to talk with our professional advisers about your proposal or to look up your property
file
Consultants
The resource management and resource consent application process can be complex and you may require assistance and advice from a lawyer, resource management consultant or surveyor (in the case of
a subdivision application) about your project. If you want professional advice the following information sources are available:
If your project is generally large or complex, please consider getting legal advice on the legal issues and professional advice on the
Resource Management issues at the start of the project, as this can save you time and money later.
Complex jobs will often require as part of an Assessment of Environmental Effects,
professional assessments from, for example:
- Urban design expert
- Landscape architect
- Arborist
- Traffic Engineer
- Geo-technical Engineer
- Infrastructure Engineer
- Resource Management Consultant
- Architect or
- Acoustical (noise) consultant
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