Consulting Affected Persons

Resource consent applicants need to consider consulting with people who may be affected by their proposal.

Applicants are required to consult with any affected people to ensure they have the opportunity to have their say about possible impacts of a consent proposal.

When consulting, you should provide enough time and accurate information for the affected parties to make informed and well-thought-out decisions. You should consider preparing some written material and sketches of your ideas to help the people you are consulting with get a clear idea of what you are proposing.

In cases where the Council believes it would be difficult to identify all persons affected by a proposal, for example where a development might have broader heritage streetscape impacts, it is likely that your application will have to be publicly notified. 

Similarly, if you have consulted with affected parties and some have not given their approval, they will be notified of the application. Affected parties that have not given written consent will then have an opportunity to make a formal submission to the Council regarding the proposal.  

People who might be adversely affected by your proposal may include the following:

  • owners and occupiers of the land
  • owners and occupiers of adjacent or nearby land
  • iwi. 

It is a requirement of the Assessment of Environmental Effects (AEE) to include a statement which details what consultation has been undertaken. The statement should include any responses you have. 

Who is an affected party?

An affected party is someone who may be affected by the environmental effects of a resource consent proposal. Effects might include impacts on daylight / sunlight access, overshadowing, noise, dust, and other factors. Who is and isn't considered an affected party is determined by the Council. 

How to get the written approval of affected parties

  1. Identify everyone who is likely to be affected by your proposed activity. 
  2. Finalise your plans before seeking the approval of affected people. If you revise your plans after approval has been obtained, you will need fresh written approvals from those people. 
  3. Show the affected parties your complete resource consent application, including the application form, plans and the AEE. 
  4. Make sure each affected party, or someone who has power of attorney to sign on their behalf, signs a copy of the plans and the AEE. Ensure that approval is obtained from all of the people registered on the property's Certificate of Title. For resource consents, each occupier must also complete an affected party form and sign a copy of the plans.
  5. Affected Party Approval Form – Resource consent(PDF, 189KB).
  6. Affected Party Approval Form – Permitted Boundary Activity(PDF, 547KB).

What if an affected party changes their mind?

Once an affected party has supplied their written approval of an activity the Council cannot take into account any adverse effects that activity may have on them. Any affected party can formally withdraw their approval in writing to the Council any time before the resource consent is granted. However, written approvals for Permitted Boundary activities cannot be withdrawn.

What's next?

When the Council receives an application, it will be assessed to determine who is an affected person. If all affected parties have not given their consent, the applicant is given the opportunity to obtain affected party written consent. If this opportunity is not taken up, or written consent cannot be obtained, the application proceeds on a limited notified basis. See Applying for Resource Consent for more information.

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