Councils expect that applicants will:
- keep in touch with council staff throughout the resource consent process
- report on any consultation, and responses from anyone consulted (as required by clause 6(1)(f) of Schedule 4 RMA [New Zealand Legislation website])
- take the lead role in consultation unless it is a major project warranting the council’s direct involvement.
Interested and affected parties expect that applicants will:
- demonstrate that they will be flexible
- provide enough information and time to prepare a thoughtful, meaningful response
- consult during the earliest possible stage in the development of your ideas (rather than expecting a response to a final, inflexible version of the project)
- appreciate the time, cost and resource implications.
Tips for consulting
Clearly set out what limits will be put on the consultation, particularly where councils will only be considering certain aspects of the proposal.
Make it clear whether you are consulting generally, or specifically to get written approval (so the application can be non-notified).
Make personal contact in meetings and site visits to allow people to put a face to your project and show that you genuinely acknowledge their role.
As a sign of respect, have owners or senior managers of your company or organisation attend consultation meetings.
Tangata whenua also expect that applicants will:
- acknowledge the legitimacy of tangata whenua involvement
- appreciate that there may be more than one group for an area, and that different groups may have different issues
- understand that they have wide and varied interests in the environment and may be under-resourced (eg, they may need to recover any actual and reasonable costs of responding to requests for consultation)
- be open to working with tangata whenua protocols
- acknowledge that due to the need to reach consensus, tangata whenua groups may work to longer timeframes
- appreciate that their interest may extend beyond the consent process into implementation and ongoing operation of the activity (eg, visiting the site once your proposal has begun operating, and being involved in monitoring any effects).
In your consultation or draft application material, consider providing for tangata whenua groups to be involved in the implementation and ongoing aspects of your proposal.
See more on...
What is expected of me?
February 2021
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