Resource consent process

Get in touch early!

You may be seeking help from a planning professional to submit your resource consent application, or you might want to make your own. Whatever you choose, QLDC planners are here to help you. If you are not too sure about resource consents and what this means for your project, you are welcome to contact our Duty Planner to help you better understand the resource consenting process. For larger or more complex developments we recommend you use our Pre-Application service.

You can also check out MfE's guidance about the Resource Consents application process.   

Your application will need to be accompanied by the relevant application form (Form 9) and fee, and other supporting information. In order to be accepted, these must include:

• plans (at a convenient scale);

• a recent Certificate of Title (within the last 3-months) and any Consent Notices and Land Covenants registered on your title;

• an assessment of the effects of your proposed activity on the surrounding environment and people, and an assessment of how your application fits with the QLDC District Plan (Assessment of Effects on the Environment (AEE));

• if required, relevant expert reports (e.g. Landscape, Geotechnical or Transport  assessments);

• if required, a signed Affected Persons forms (see below).

To avoid delays, it's essential you provide all the relevant information needed to process your application. You also need to think about if any person might be affected (e.g. your neighbours). It is important you include an assessment on you neighbours with an application and provide their written approval where they are affected.

You can email resourceconsent@qldc.govt.nz to lodge your resource consent application with us (please put 'New Resource Consent' in the subject line).

If the attachments are large, please upload your documents online via the Application forms and fees page.

Once all the required information has been provided to QLDC, a planner will prepare a report on your application. This will either be that your application is:

• Non-Notified: most applications are processed non-notified, and generally within 20 working days. This is where the general public or any specific person is not involved or you may have supplied a written approval from your neighbour to assist your application.

• Limited Notified: this is where Council determines a specific person or persons are affected and your application must be notified to them (and you have not provided a written approval from that person or persons).

• Publicly Notified; this is where the general public are invited to make a submission on your application.

If required, a hearing will be held before Council appointed Commissioners for limited and publicly notified resource consent applications, and the council planner will prepare an additional report for any hearing.

Your Resource Consent will have conditions that you need to adhere to, and our processing planner will discuss these with you before your decision is issued.

QLDC is responsible for monitoring resource consents to make sure you comply with the conditions of your resource consent and your project or activity is undertaken as you say it will be in your Resource Consent application.

For more information about monitoring see below.

For all monitoring enquiries please contact our RCMonitoring team by email at: RCMonitoring@qldc.govt.nz

Once the Council has granted a resource consent, we will carry out a site inspection to make sure the development or activity has been, or is being undertaken in accordance with the approved resource consent decision and conditions.

During the visit we determine if you have met the conditions attached to the resource consent.

Most consents need no more than two visits and in many cases only one inspection is necessary when all conditions of consent have been complied with. For some activities, monitoring will be ongoing.

In some cases a site inspection is not required until works have been completed. In other cases, such as earthworks, we need to inspect the site during the works.

A Code Compliance Certificate is written confirmation of compliance with a building consent under the Building Act.

Resource consent monitoring is independent of any building consent inspections as building and resource consents are not approving and inspecting the same thing.

You do not need to be home. Site inspections do not require entry into dwellings. Only access onto the property is required. However, if you would prefer to be on site, please let us know.

The user pays for the resource consent and this includes monitoring.

A consent holder generally has five years to implement a resource consent. If the consent holder does not inform Council when works have started, then the start date is estimated.

Monitoring is still necessary for any work or activity that has not been checked and found to be carried out in accordance with the consent granted regardless of when the work or activity was completed.

Resource consents are invariably ‘attached’ to the land over which the activity is approved.

When you buy a piece of land you automatically become the “consent holder”. This means you are responsible for complying with the consent and its conditions and you are responsible for any costs, including monitoring charges.