Land Use

What is a land use consent?

A land use consent is one of the types of resource consent which we administer.

Follow the link below for general information about resource consents.

Resource Consents

When is a land use consent needed? 

A land use consent is required when an activity is not permitted by the District Plan. These may include: 

• a building infringing daylight, setback, height, boundary and/or shading rules
• altering or demolishing structures
• earthworks
• disturbing habitats of plants and animals
• depositing substances on land
• childcare centre
• building in coastal areas
• dealing with parking issues associated with a new business
• signs, billboards
• noise caused by business/commercial activity

For further details about the District Plan and to find out about the categories of activities follow the link below.

The District Plan

Applying for a land use consent 

You will need to complete the application form and include the following information:

• covering letter
• current Certificate of Title
• advance fee/deposit, $1,500.00
• building activity or site plans
• assessment of environmental effects - this may need to be suppported by technical reports, such as engineering or landscape reports
• written permission from people/neighbours affected by the proposal
• planning maps/locality maps
• assessment against District Plan rules
• four copies of the application and accompanying documents

It is the responsibility of the applicant to provide all details and information.

Land Use Application [146.4kb]
Resource Consent Application Guidance Notes [187kb]
Assessment of Environmental Effects Form [66kb]
Affected Parties Written Approval Form [71.6kb]
Resource Consent Processing and Monitoring Fees [106kb]

Our Landscape Guidelines are designed to encourage best practice approaches to landscape planning associated with consent applications and provide direction on the information that should be provided in any resource consent application. 

For further information, follow the link below.

Landscape Guidelines

Requesting a lodgement meeting

A lodgement meeting is an opportunity for you to discuss any planning issues that may be relevant to the proposal and to ensure all necessary information has been supplied with the application.

To download the form to request a lodgement meeting, follow the link below.

Lodgement Meeting Request [52kb]

Processing a land use consent

There are several stages in the processing of a consent.

Checking/assessment 

When we recieve an application, it is checked by staff in our Customer Services team to ensure the application form has been completed, the necessary information has been provided, and the application meets the basic requirements. This is not a technical planning check. The advance fee of $1,500.00 is paid at this stage.

The application is then forwarded to the Resource Consents Team Leader for assessment and a preliminary planning check. This is to ensure that the application satisfies the provisions of the RMA. If not it may be rejected at this stage. If the application is accepted it is then allocated to one of our planning staff for processing.

Planning staff visit the site and prepare a report with recommendations, which is given to the Resource Consents Team Leader for consideration. 

We are required to process applications within 20 working days.

Setting conditions

There may be conditions set against a consent application, which may include:

• providing a performance bond
• protecting, restoring and enhancing a natural or physical resource including the planting of vegetation
• entering into a covenant
• measuring and monitoring impacts of the activity
• limitations on certain types of activities of the consent
• specifies engineering requirements, including plans of the activity

Assessing for a building consent

All land use consent applications are assessed by our Building Department as sometimes a resource consent is required before a building consent can be issued.

In some circumstances work may start on the building project but in other cases no work at all will be allowed until such time as the resource consent has been obtained.

For further information about the Building Consent process, follow the link below.

A senior planner considers the written report and recommendations. If approved, the resource consent may require Development Contributions and will be sent to our Development Contributions team for assessment.

For further information about Development Contributions, follow the link below.

Development Contributions

Granting/issuing the consent

When the Development Contributions assessment is complete, the consent is issued.

The decision and an invoice are sent to the applicant or the agent, if one has been engaged. Most applications incur some additional charges. Further processing costs may be incurred during processing and are charged after a decision is made on the application.

Council fees are payable whether or not the Land Use consent is issued.

If you or Council engage professional consultants to assist in determining compliance this will add to the costs of processing of an application.

Follow the link below for details of our Schedule of Fees and Charges.

Fees and Charges

Monitoring the consent

Once a resource consent has been granted we are obliged to monitor its implementation. Our monitoring staff are notified of all approved  resource consents and they check on the resource activity’s environmental effects to ensure that  a resource consent is being used according to its limits and conditions.

Council staff may also undertake monitoring if a complaint is received about an activity that affects the environment.

Monitoring fees

All land use consent applications incur a standard monitoring fee of $350.00 for residential activity or $500.00 for commercial activity. 

The consent holder pays the monitoring fee, and there may be further costs where ongoing or additional monitoring is required.

Lodging an objection

If you are unhappy with the decision or any part of it, you can object to a decision. However, this is the case only if an application is non-notified or no submissions were received after notification.

All objections must be made in writing within 15 working days of the decision being issued explaining the reason for the objection.

We must consider the objection within 20 working days, or, in the case of an objection relating to processing fees, as soon as practicable.

Contact us

If you need assistance with any aspect of your consent, you can contact any of our Customer Service Centres or the duty planner, phone +64 9 430 4200, who will be able to discuss with you all matters relating to the application process.