Anyone who wishes to express their views about a publicly notified proposal or resource consent can make a written comment (a submission) to the council about it.

Make sure you state in your written submission if you want to speak at a council hearing. If you don’t, you may not be told that the hearing is on, and you may not be able to speak. However, the council will still consider your submission.

Attending the hearing gives you a chance to speak about the important parts of your submission, and give more information. It also gives the hearing panel the opportunity to ask you questions.

You will be limited to the matters raised in your submission, and will not be able to raise new issues unless these are raised at the hearing.

Council report on submissions

When the council has received all the submissions, council officers prepare a report that includes:

  • a summary and analysis of the submissions and further submissions (if any)
  • recommendations on which parts of the proposal/application to adopt, remove or modify.

They send the report to the consent applicant and everyone who made submissions.

Notification about a hearing

If you and other submitters stated that you would like to speak at a hearing, the council will hold one. They will tell you the date and time of the hearing at least 10 working days beforehand.

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