The Resource Consent Process: Five key elements to success
- Written by
- Catriona Eagles
Whether it’s to build the home of your dreams, or to subdivide parcels of land for development, you will probably come across the resource management process at least once in your life. But do you know the best way to manage this process? In our experience, five key elements are fundamental to achieving a successful outcome.
1. Seek Professional Advice
Just like any new (ad)venture, appreciate that you may be entering the unknown. The worst approach is to assume that obtaining a resource consent is straightforward. Seek assistance from those who deal with this process every day.
2. Inform
Provide the Council with good quality information. This enables a more constructive process.
3. Plan
Take time initially to plan your approach and investigate potential issues to ensure the right work is being undertaken by the right service provider, in the right order.
If you obtain the consent based on conceptual information with detailed engineering design following, you can avoid the higher level of work and associated lost investment if the resource consent is not granted, or granted on a reduced scale. Why risk a great deal of time and money by not being aware of the issues and resource management frameworks at the beginning?
4. Engage
Building a constructive relationship with Council helps in the process. You may be able to determine points of agreement or disagreement and confirm the details of any technical assessments. For example, rather than undertaking a full Traffic Impact Assessment for a proposal, the Council may agree that a simple analysis of peak traffic periods will suffice. There is a wealth of knowledge there and assistance can be available if you are open to receiving it.
5. Be Clear
It’s all about investing in steps towards certainty. If done properly and strategically, this will focus the issues, manage time and cost and provide greater confidence, placing you in the best place to navigate the process.
Think about seeking professional Planning assistance to ensure your project is run strategically, establishing a constructive relationship with the Council early whilst working toward your desired outcome.
Catriona Eagles is a Senior Planner with Cheal Consultants Ltd. Cheal provides expert services in the fields of Planning, Surveying and Civil, Geotechnical, and Structural Engineering. We have offices in Taupo, Hawkes Bay, Ohakune, Taumarunui, Hamilton and Rotorua.