Frequently Asked Questions

Resource consents are monitored to ensure that they have been carried out in accordance with the application and any conditions that have been imposed on the consent. A site inspection will generally be undertaken by a Planner and an assessment made against all conditions of consent. The monitoring of a consent costs $130.00 and is included in the initial resource consent application fee.

Resource consents (including for subdivisions) need to be started within five years, or they will lapse. Prior to the lapse date (five years from the date of the consent being granted) you are entitled to apply for an extension.

You can only start work on your project once you receive the resource consent and any relevant conditions are being complied with. Any other permits and consents, including building consents, and authorisations must also be issued before you begin work.

No, the Council cannot recommend any professionals. Search the following:

• planning consultants
• architects
• archaeologists
• surveyors.

 A geotechnical report will be required for a resource consent:

In most instances, a geotechnical report has to be written or reviewed by a suitably qualified and experienced practitioner. For a list of the Council's suitably qualified and experienced geotechnical engineers please see our list of Geotechnical practitioners(PDF, 36KB).

Note: If your property is located in the LSAA and you require a geotechnical engineering report, a suitably qualified and experienced geotechnical engineer is one who has 'geotechnical' listed as one of their practice field on the Engineering NZ register. You can check if your geotechnical engineer meets this requirement by searching for them on the Registration Authority website. 

Contact the Duty Planner for confirmation if you are unsure whether you require a geotechnical report for your proposal.

See the Consent Fees schedule for the deposit fee associated with the type of consent you are applying for. The final amount that is charged is generally more or less equal to the deposit amount. 

Disclaimer: The final amount equals the actual time spent, and depends on complexity of application, completeness of application etc.

Apply for a RAPID number(PDF, 55KB)

The duty planner is available Monday–Friday between 8:30am and 3.00pm. The duty planner can be contacted on 06 349 0001 or you can come in to council customer services at 101 Guyton Street and ask to speak with them.

A section 223 certificate is an approval issued for a survey plan for a subdivision. Once all the subdivision consent conditions have been met, you need to apply for a section 224(c) certificate, which is essentially a certificate confirming all conditions of the resource consent have been met.

The section 223 certificate must be lodged within five years from the date the subdivision consent is issued. The section 224(c) certificate must be lodged within three years from the date the section 223 certificate was issued. 

• The Council will either accept or reject your application within 10 working days. You need to be aware that this does not mean your consent has been approved or rejected. If your consent has been accepted for processing, it will move on to the next step. If your consent has been rejected, it means you have not included the information required in your application. You will have to provide the additional information requested by the Council and submit a new application.  
• If the Council requires further information regarding your application we will write a letter to you outlining the additional information we need. You must respond to us within 15 working days with what you intend to do (for example, that you will provide the information). If you agree to provide the information, the Council will work with you to set a reasonable date by which the information needs to be received. Note: If you receive a request from the Council for further information, the working days stop until you provide a response. 
• A decision on whether or not your resource consent application will be notified will be made within 20 working days (10 working days for a fast-track application).
• Within 20 working days we will make a decision on your application, or 10 working days for a fast-track application. The decision can be appealed. If your application requires public or limited notification, the time frame can be at least three to four months.

 How to apply for resource consent

Earthworks can include the modification of land surfaces by blading, contouring, ripping, moving, removing, placing or replacing soil.  Please refer to Chapter 14 – Earthworks(PDF, 134KB) for the rules and Performance Standards to find out whether you will need consent to undertake earthworks as part of your proposal.

In the Residential Zone, fences need to comply with the following maximum heights:

Note: If you wish to construct a fence above these heights, you will need to apply for a resource consent.

To see where the legal boundaries of your property are, it is best to obtain a Certificate of Title from Land Information New Zealand (LINZ). Otherwise, you can locate the survey pegs on your property. A surveyor will be able to help you locate the survey pegs.

A height recession plane is a building envelope comprising a line that commences 2 metres above ground level at all site boundaries, and then projects inwards at a 45-degree angle.