Introduction to resource consents process

New Zealand has rules for how it manages the environment. Southland District Council must prepare plans to help them manage the environment in their area.

Resource consents

The Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) provides the legal framework for how we should manage the environment and make decisions that promote the sustainable management of our natural and physical resources. Under the RMA, councils must prepare plans to help them manage the environment in their area. Southland District Council is one of 61 territorial authorities around the country that has a district plan. District plans generally have zones, and each zone has objectives, policies and rules to encourage or deter activities.

The Southland District Plan (the plan) sets the planning framework for our district, and outlines what you can do as of right (a permitted activity) and what activities you need resource consent for. The plan is developed with public input and is an important document to inform development.

You need resource consent if your proposed building work, development, or activity is not a permitted activity under the Southland District Plan rules.

At Southland District Council we deal with two types of resource consents: subdivision and land use consents.

  • A subdivision consent is needed to legally divide land or buildings for separate ownership, for example into new lots or sections (fee simple or a boundary adjustment), or as a unit title, cross lease, or company lease.
  • A land use consent may be needed for particular activities such as extending or constructing a new building, or setting up a new business activity in a residential area.

Environment Southland (Southland Regional Council) looks after all other types of resource consents.  In some instances you may need consent from both us and the regional council.

A resource consent is basically an assessment of your proposed building or activity against the relevant Southland District Plan rule or rules. We check to see if your proposal is acceptable under these rules, and how it may affect the environment, your neighbours or other affected parties.

The plan contains rules that explicitly require resource consent for certain activities in particular locations. The plan also controls specific parameters of activities via performance standards – such as limits on earthworks, vegetation, building bulk and location, noise, lighting, and transportation, etc.

When you look through the plan, you will see that many activities are prescribed an activity status. You do not need resource consent for permitted activities if you comply with the relevant performance standards. It is therefore important that you read the relevant parts of the plan before you make any changes to your property or start an activity likely to affect the environment or other people.

Activities that are not classified as permitted, or those which cannot comply with performance standards will require a resource consent before they can be legally undertaken. Activities that are not permitted may be classified as Controlled, Restricted Discretionary, Discretionary or Non-Complying. We must grant a resource consent for a controlled activity but can refuse to grant a resource consent for all other activity types.

Certain activities may also be exempt from resource consent requirements under the RMA if they meet certain statutory requirements.  These are called deemed permitted boundary activities and deemed permitted marginal or temporary activities.

If your proposal complies with the plan, you can apply for a Certificate of Compliance (this is different to a building Code Compliance Certificate). This confirms the activity is permitted without resource consent and it's our only way to confirm this formally in writing.

We recommend you get pre-application guidance before making your resource consent application, especially if your proposal is for a more complex development such as multiple dwellings or large-scale subdivision.

Straight forward projects, such as extending your dwelling, may only need an email, phone call or online meeting with one of our planners. Appointments to discuss simple resource consent applications with a planner are free of charge for the first 30 minutes. Email at sdc@southlanddc.govt.nz or call our customer service team 0800 727 059.

It’s important to note that you must get resource consent from us before you start work. Failing to do so could lead to building delays while you get your consent, or costly changes to your proposal. Make sure you prepare early and leave yourself plenty of lead in time for your project. If you start work without a required resource consent you could end up with a visit from our compliance team, and longer delays to your project.

Once we receive your application we aim to process it within 20 working days, unless it is a notified consent. However, the process can take longer if you don’t supply the correct information, or if we require additional information to understand what you are proposing. That’s one of the reasons why we recommend speaking to one of our planners before you lodge your application.

A planner in the resource consents team will assess your application and if needed, will get input from other internal teams, and/or external experts, such as an ecologist, or a traffic or acoustic engineer. The planner will recommend if the application needs to be publicly notified and if there are any affected persons, and whether a resource consent should be issued and the conditions that should apply.

A National Environmental Standard (NES) is a regulation set by central government that prescribes technical standards, methods or requirements for specific environmental matters. Every council must enforce these standards to enable a consistent approach and decision-making process. Resource consent may be required for a project from us under the requirements of a NES.