Resource Consents allow people to carry  out activities that do not normally meet the environmental standards in the District Plan. They do this by setting conditions and restrictions on the activity to make its effects environmentally sustainable. If the activity cannot be made sustainable through such restrictions, the consent application is declined.  Some resource consents have expiry dates and must be renewed. Others apply indefinitely, provided their conditions are met.

When people apply for a resource consent, the decision is rarely a quick one.  Before the decision is made, affected parties and often the general public must be informed and given an opportunity to make submissions supporting or opposing the application. Once all the evidence has been considered by a hearing panel of councillors or independent commissioners a decision is made to grant or withhold the consent.

Click here to get the Ministry for the Environment guide Applying for a Resource Consent.  For resource consent forms click here or go to Forms (Consents, LIMS, Licences, Submissions, etc) on the sidebar.