Executive Summary

Resource consents 54,658 resource consents were processed through to a decision over the 2003/2004 financial year, an 11.5% (5,646) increase in the total number of resource consents processed through to a decision in 2001/2002 (49,012). 4.8% (2,628) resource consents were publicly notified during 2003/2004 - a decrease from the 6% (2,921) publicly notified in 2001/2002. The 2003/2004 financial year saw the introduction of limited notification as an alternative to full notification. 0.7% (380) of resource consents have been processed since its introduction in August 2003. 24% of consents processed through to a decision were for Controlled Activities, 66% for Discretionary Activities (including Restricted Discretionary Activities) and 11% for Non-Complying Activities. Pre-hearing meetings were held for 25% of all notified resource consents processed, compared with 19% in 2001/2002. Local authority officers acting under delegated authority made 87% of decisions on resource consent applications compared to 84% in 2001/2002. 0.7% (404) of resource consent applications were declined in 2003/2004 - an increase from the 0.56% (274) resource consent applications declined in 2001/2002. 1.2% (651) of resource consent decisions were appealed to the Environment Court in 2003/2004 - a decrease from the 1.8% (893) that were appealed in 2001/2002. Time 84% of local authorities formally received resource consent applications within one full working day of their arriving at the council office, i.e. processing the consent began within one day of consent application being lodged, compared to 88% in 2001/2002. All 86 local authorities monitored whether resource consents were processed within statutory time limits in 2003/2004. Of these 43% monitored weekly and 43% monthly. 12% used other methods (for example daily, continually, annually or a combination of these). 77% of all resource consents were processed within statutory time limits. 56% of all notified consents were processed within statutory time limits in 2003/2004 compared to 69% in 2001/2002. 74% of all consents using the limited notification process were processed within statutory time limits in 2003/2004. 78% of non-notified consents were processed within statutory time limits, compared to 83% in 2001/2002. Section 37 was used to extend statutory time limits for 12.6% of the total resource consents processed - compared to 6% in 2001/2002. Cost Over 2003/2004 median charges for resource consents varied depending on the consent types and type of issuing local authority. Good practice in resource consent processing 90% (77) of local authorities in 2003/2004 define the environmental effects that must be addressed in consent applications for controlled and restricted discretionary activities. This compares to 81% (70) local authorities in 2001/2002. 69% (59) of local authorities indicated that they follow a structured process (such as using checklists) to ensure that environmental effects are adequately identified and addressed in Assessments of Environmental Effects compared to 64% (55) local authorities over 2001/2002. 65% (55) of local authorities indicated that guidance notes or checklists are available to staff making decisions on whether to notify an application, compared with 73% (63) local authorities in 2001/2002. 57% (49) of local authorities advised they have internal guidance notes or checklists available to staff on how to identify affected parties, the same as reported in the 2001/2002 survey. 79% (68) of local authorities formally monitored and reported consent processing performance, the results of which are made available to ratepayers - compared to the 85% (73) of local authorities who undertook monitoring and reporting in 2001/2002. Enforcement and compliance 58% of complaints were dealt with informally compared to 75% in 2001/2002. Those councils able to provide information on compliance indicated that 74% of all resource consents that required monitoring complied with resource consent conditions in 2003/2004 compared to 72% in 2001/2002. Māori participation 56% of local authorities made a formal budgetary commitment to Māori/iwi participation in resource management processes compared to 49% over 2001/2002. 65% of local authorities provided staff guidance when determining if Māori/iwi are likely to be affected parties in a resource consent application and should therefore be notified. This compares with 59% in 2001/2002. 789 resource consent applications that affected statutory acknowledgements under the Ngai Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1998 were received by 12 local authorities in 2003/2004. This compares to 589 in 2001/2002.