About Resource Consents

Some types of resource consent applications are issued by Selwyn District Council and other types of applications are issued by Environment Canterbury (Canterbury Regional Council). Resource consents are sometimes known as planning or development applications and historically were known as dispensations or specified departures.

When do you need to apply for resource consent with us?

When your proposed activity or building does not comply with the requirements of the District Plan. The District Plan is legally binding and if you breach the rules or don't obtain a resource consent when you need one, you may face penalties. The kinds of activities that may require a resource consent include:

• subdividing a property
• pruning, removing or working near a protected tree
• building a new house or making alterations or additions where the work may not comply with the zone rules such as setbacks from boundaries
• earthworks
• undertaking business activities outside of a business zone
• some types of farming activities
• changing the use of property

When your proposal involved the subdivision of land.  All subdivisions (this includes boundary adjustments) require a resource consent regardless of whether or not they comply with the District Plan requirements.

We offer pre-application advice for land use and subdivision proposals. It may be beneficial for you to discuss your proposal with us before applying for a resource consent. Before submitting a request for a pre-application meeting, we encourage you to contact our Duty Planner on (03) 347 2800 or 0800 735 996 in the first instance for general advice about the District Plan, the resource consent process and to check whether a pre-application meeting would be necessary.

You will also need to understand the impacts and restrictions if the subject land is classified as highly productive land.

How to submit an application

• Select the correct application form.
• You will also need to include plans, a record of title and an assessment of environmental effects.
• Your application will need to be accompanied by the appropriate fee.
• If your application doesn't include everything that's required, it will either be returned as incomplete (if there is a large amount of information missing) or the additional information will be requested and the application will be put on hold, until we receive the further information.
• You can drop your completed application off at any of Councils Service Centres, post it to Selwyn District Council, PO Box 90, Rolleston 7674, or you can email it to rcapps@selwyn.govt.nz.

What other consents are managed by Environment Canterbury?

• discharges to air and land (eg septic tanks and solid fuel heaters)
• water taking, damming or diverting water;
• coastal marine area activities (except fishing);
• activities in the beds of rivers and lakes and
• specific uses of land that may cause soil erosion.

For further information on Regional Council resource consents, you can contact our Regional Council, Environment Canterbury.

Our District Plan

• This Plan is considered an activities based plan. Some issues are dealt with issue by issue (typically where they occur throughout a district regardless of activity type or zone) while others are zone-related, with certain issues and management solutions being dealt with solely within a zone or management area.
• Activities based plans allow for region or district-wide issues to be incorporated into the same plan as localised issues without repeating provisions in each zone or area-based chapter. Those issues that are found throughout a region or district can be incorporated into 'District Wide Matters’ and be cross-referenced from other parts of the plan; and those issues specific to an area or zone can be dealt with in discrete chapters that relate solely to those 'Area Specific Matters'.
• Some things you want to do will be dealt with in a range of chapters in the plan or in both a district and a regional plan. For example, a manufacturing business may have business, transport and signage rules which apply to it in the district plan and stormwater rules which apply to it in Environment Canterbury's regional plan. You may need to look through different parts of the District Plan and regional plan before you can determine whether or not you need resource consent.
• If what you want to do is not specifically mentioned, you may still require a resource consent and you should check how the plan works for guidance.
• As well as permitted activities, there are also controlled, restricted discretionary, discretionary or non-complying activities. These activities all require consent and the descriptions indicate the approach the council will take to assessing your application. The meaning of these terms is explained in the plans and in the Resource Management Act 1991.

Contact Us

• We encourage you to contact us for information about Resource Consents.
• Either by calling in to the main office in Rolleston and speaking to the Duty Planner - no appointment necessary. 
• Phone the Duty Planner on (03) 347-2800 or email contactus@selwyn.govt.nz