We are facing delays in processing applications due to current staff shortages.
This diagram outlines the resource consent process. Click here to open it in a new window. [PNG, 470 KB]
Our council planners are available to help you.
Talk to us if you want to understand what options you may have for a project or proposal on your land, or to use a resource. If you talk to us before you commit to design choices for your project, or before submitting any application, we will help you to make informed decisions about it. This will help you avoid unnecessary delays and costs.
You can talk to a duty planner for 30 minutes for free, or have a more comprehensive pre-application meeting.
We do need you to include:
To find out about the general consent process steps and information needed see the Ministry for Environment's Everyday Guide on Applying for a resource consent.
Applying for a resource consent | Ministry for the Environment
Our Tasman Resource Management Plan includes specific information that we need for some types of projects. For land use and subdivision consents this is in chapter 19.
Tasman Resource Management Plan
If you have a written approval from your neighbours, then we do not have to look at any of the effects on them, which makes it quicker and easier to assess.
You do have to pay a deposit fee with your application.
A resource consent planner will check the information you included with your application, and also use the rules in the Tasman Resource Management Plan to assess it.
We make sure we have enough details to understand your project and what its effects on the environment and neighbours might be.
If we need more information to understand these, then we will send you a 'request for further information'.
Council decides which of the following three 'processing paths' your application will take. This depends on the effects that the proposal will have on the environment and also on other people. The three paths are:
If an application is limited notified, only those people who the Council decided are directly affected can make submissions.
If it is publicly notified anyone has a chance to make a submission on the resource consent application.
Often we hold a hearing, so that both the applicant and any submitters have a chance to speak to the decision maker about the proposal. If a submitter asks "to be heard" we must have a hearing.
Read more about how to make a submission on resource consent applications and about resource consent hearings.
Our decision to grant or decline your application is usually made by a Council planner (non-notified applications) or by Hearing Panels with one or more accredited RMA Commissioners.
If we grant consent, we place conditions on your consent to make sure that work is done in a certain way or to protect neighbours or the environment from adverse effects. The Council will also decide how long to grant resource consent for. Some consents (like a subdivision) last forever, while others might only last for a couple of years (like a permit to take water from a river).
We will always send you a copy of the decision and our reasons.
If our decision is to grant, then we include a copy of your consent and all the conditions.
If you do not agree with the Council's decision, you may be able to lodge an objection or an appeal.
As you can see, there are several paths that an application can take. Each step in the process has a timeframe for completion.
Last modified:
