A subdivision consent is needed for any of the following:
- dividing a parcel of land or a unit title into one or more further parcels
- changing an existing boundary location
- granting a lease of part of a parcel of land
- granting a cross lease/unit plan.
Applications for subdividing property are assessed against the requirements of the Resource Management Act and our District Plan.
For further information about the District Plan, follow the link below.
District Plan
Applying for a subdivision consent
You will need to complete an application form and include the following:
- covering letter
- current Certificate of Title
- advance fee/deposit
- subdivision plan
- completed assessment of environmental effects form. This may need to be suppported by technical reports, such as engineering or landscape reports
- written approval form 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 applicant's responsibility to provide all details and information. Our guidance notes explain the process and the information which you need to include.
Resource Consent Application Guidance Notes [293kb]
Subdivision Application [305kb]
Assessment of Environmental Effects Form [66kb]
Affected Parties Written Approval Form [71.6kb]
Contaminants in soil
The National Environmental Standard for Assessing and Managing Contaminants in Soil (NES) is used to assess the risk to health of site development where past activities may have contaminated the soil.
The questionnaire will help you to determine whether the regulations apply to your proposal and the HAIL checklist is a list of activities which are considered to contaminate the soil.
NES Contaminated Soils - Pre-lodgement Questionnaire [142kb]
Hazardous Activities and Industries List (HAIL) Checklist [44kb]
Landscape guidelines
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
Pre-application meetings
A pre-application meeting is an opportunity to discuss your proposal with our staff before you lodge a resource consent application. We offer three types of pre-application meetings, each with a different focus.
- initial concept - discuss development proposals at the early concept stage
- technical review - discuss the technical issues associated with a proposed resource consent application
- pre-lodgement - a pre-lodgement check of your proposed consent for completeness prior to lodgement of the application.
You are entitled to one free meeting of each type. If any follow up work is required, such as a technical review of information, the actual and reasonable cost of this work will be charged.
Any information offered during the pre-application process does not pre-empt the normal resource consent assessment and decision making process.
For further information relating to these meetings, select from the links below.
Pre-application meeting Request Form [86kb]
A Guide to Concept Meetings - Fact Sheet [68kb]
A Guide to Technical Review Meetings - Fact Sheet [73kb]
A Guide to Pre-Lodgement Meetings - Fact Sheet [63kb]
Contact our Resource Consent Administration Team Leader to arrange a suitable date and time for a pre-application meeting by phoning: +64 9 430 4200.
Pre-application meeting appointments are available from 1.00pm to 4.30pm, Monday to Friday.
Notified consents
When you submit your application, you may decide to request it to be publicly notified if the proposal is likely to have significant impact.
Alternatively, our planning staff may recommend that it is to be publicly notified after assessment of the application.
For further information about notified and non-notified consents, follow the link below.
Public Notification
Processing a subdivision consent
We have 20 working days to process non-notified applications, longer if they are to be notified or a hearing is needed.
Checking/assessment
Your application is initially checked by our Customer Services staff to ensure the application is complete and contains sufficient information. This is not a technical planning check. The advance fee is paid at this stage.
Our senior planning staff then do an assessment and a preliminary planning check 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 processed.
A member of our planning team will visit the site and prepare a report with recommendations, which is then considered by a senior planner.
Setting conditions
Conditions may include:
providing a performance bond
protecting, restoring and enhancing a natural or physical resource including the planting of vegetation
entering into a covenant/consent notice
measuring and monitoring impacts of the activity.
Subdivision consent conditions may also require the provision of an esplanade reserve or strip.
Assessing Development Contributions
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 for any additional charges which may have been incurred are sent to the applicant or the agent, if one has been engaged.
If you or Council engage professional consultants to assist in determining compliance this will also add to the costs of processing an application.
Council fees are payable whether or not the consent is issued.
Follow the link below for details of our Schedule of Fees and Charges.
Fees and Charges
Lodging an objection
If you are unhappy with the decision, or any part of it, you can object to it. However this is only the case 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.
Approval of Survey Plans
The post-approval process is explained on the next page.