Apply for a Resource Consent

Complete this resource consent application form and submit to planner@chbdc.govt.nz, along with a site plan and supporting documents. A minimum fee will apply, which will need to be paid prior to the consent being processed. You can check our Fees and Charges page for further information.

Applicants will be charged for the full processing time and expert input into all resource consents. Charges may also be made to monitor your resource consent. 

Once your application has been submitted, part of our decision-making is to determine whether to process the application as publicly notified, limited notified or non-notified. 

Non-notified resource consent application

We may decide that the general public do not need to be involved if the adverse effects on the environment are no more than minor, and there are no adversely affected persons (unless they have given their approval). Most resource consent applications fall into this category, which means there is no submission process. 

Consent applications may also be non-notified if the applicant has consulted with any potentially affected persons before application and received their written approval.

Limited notified resource consent application

If we do not publicly notify an application, our resource consent team must still decide if there are people who will be adversely affected by the activity to a degree that is at least ‘minor’. These people are known as affected persons. We will notify them of the application unless a rule in a district/regional plan or national environmental standard prevents this. Only those people will be served notice and can make a submission on the application.

Publicly resource consent application

This is generally when Council assesses if a proposal will have or is likely to have adverse effects on the environment that are more than minor. We will publish a notice of proposal on our website and a summary in a newspaper available in the area likely to be affected. Anybody can make a submission on the proposal. Submitters can be for or against an activity, or be neutral but wanting to provide additional information, and can ask to be heard in support of their submission. Publicly notified applications usually involve a public hearing.

An application may also be publicly notified if the applicant requests it, if special circumstances exist, or if the district/regional plan or a national environmental standard says it must.

You can help make sure your consent application is processed quickly by:

• talking to our team early on about what you want to do.
• talking to those people who you or our team thinks might be affected by your proposal.
• providing a well-prepared assessment of the environmental effects with your application.
• responding quickly to requests for further information.

Councils can decide to grant or decline a resource consent. Usually when a council grants a consent, some conditions will apply. We will also check that what you are doing is in line with your resource consent. This could mean that a council officer will visit the site, take some measurements or require you to monitor the activity. Councils also decide how long to grant resource consent for. Some consents (like subdivisions) last forever, while others might only last for a specified time frame (for example, to operate a concert event).

If you're thinking about buying land or buildings, it's worth asking the local city or district council for a Land Information Memorandum. This report will tell you what information the governing body has on that piece of land, including what the land can be used for under the district plan rules. If you want to check that an activity is okay under the council's plan, you can ask the council for a certificate of compliance.

If you're doing something that requires a building consent, before you start building you can get a Project Information Memorandum, which will also tell you if you need to apply for a resource consent.