Applying for Resource Consent

Preparing your Resource Consent application

You are encouraged to speak to an environmental consents planner at Council before applying for a Resource Consent.  Please contact Council to make an appointment to discuss your application.

A pre-application discussion will help:

• Confirm whether a Resource Consent is needed
• Explain the Resource Consent process and what it involves (also see the Resource Consent Process page)
• Identify the relevant issues and information needed for your application
• Identify properties and people that might be affected by the proposal and any consultation required
• Identify specialists who may need to be involved in assessing the application
• Identify any initial concerns with the proposal that you will need to address in your application
• Determine the fee to be deposited with the application

The processing of a Resource Consent application is generally simpler, faster and less costly if you have already sought and taken Council’s advice before making your application.

What should you include in your application?

You, or someone representing you - for example your agent, surveyor, architect or planning consultant - must complete a Resource Consent application form.  A pre-lodgement checklist is available, which will help to identify the information that is required with your application (see the 'related documents' section at the top of this page).

Plans and other material supplied with a land-use or subdivision consent application should be accurate and provide enough detail to enable any person to gain a reasonable understanding of the application and the potential effects of the proposal.

One of the most critical parts of the application is the content and quality of the Assessment of Environmental Effects (AEE). You must prepare an AEE to go with your application. For more information on AEEs see the Assessment of Environmental Effects page.

If you lodge an incomplete application it may be rejected by Council. If this happens, you will be informed about the reasons for the rejection and the information that is required to complete the application and you will have to reapply.

Written approval from affected persons/neighbours

It is courteous to consult your neighbours before starting construction work but you are not legally bound to unless your project requires a Resource Consent and Council considers your neighbours to be affected parties. If you want to know more about consulting affected persons, or think you may be an affected person, see the Affected Persons' Consent page.

Fees and charges

A fee (deposit) must be paid when an application for a Resource Consent is lodged with Council.  Council processing time is charged at an hourly rate and costs in excess of the deposit paid will be invoiced.  This is irrespective of whether Resource Consent is subsequently granted or refused. If an application is granted, monitoring fees may also be payable.

You can find the applicable fees and charges on the Planning Fees and Charges page.

You may require the services of professional consultants, which will be additional to Council's costs.

Please note that the applicant is the person responsible for all costs associated with the application.

Submit an application

APPLY FOR A RESOURCE CONSENT online here

Application lodgement check

Before your application can be formally lodged it will go through a check to ensure that all the information needed to make a decision on the consent is included. A Resource Management Act checklist (in 'related documents') is available to help you check that all the information needed has been included with your application.

The following list provides a summary of the main requirements for most consents:

• Payment of a deposit
• A current copy of the record of title (less than three months old); you can ask Council to obtain a copy of this for which you will be charged
• A completed and signed Resource Consent application form
• The name and address of the applicant and owner/occupier of the site to which the application relates
• A description of the activity and its location
• The type of consent sought and any other Resource Consents required
• An assessment of environmental effects
• One set of accurate plans to a recognised metric scale – eg, 1:100, 1:200; with all plans having a north point. The plans should clearly show the name of the person and the company that prepared the plans; the address of property; the date the plans were drawn; a scale and a unique plan reference or identification number and/or variation number where relevant (please note that even if plans have been supplied as part of a Building Consent application it will still be necessary to supply an additional sets of plans for the Resource Consent application)
• Specialist reports supporting the application
• Any other information required by the District Plan
• Written approvals of affected persons (if required)
• Date and signature

Please note that if your application does not include an adequate assessment of environmental effects or the information required by the District Plan, Council may reject your application and return it, outlining the further information required in order for it to be formally accepted.

Lodging the application

Once your application has been checked for completeness it will be lodged for technical review. You will receive a letter confirming that you application has been lodged. The processing ‘clock’ starts at this point. For more information see the Resource Consent Process page.