This section reports on:
- resource consents processed
- changes to consent conditions
- notification of resource consents
- resource consents by activity type
- requests for further information
- pre-hearing meetings
- resource consent decisions
- resource consents declined and appealed.
Resource consents processed
54,658 consents were processed through to a decision in 2003/2004. This is 11.5% (5,646) more consents than in 2001/2002 (49,012). Territorial authorities processed 72.4% of resource consents with regional councils processing 19.7% and unitary authorities 7.9%.
Table 1 shows the change in consent numbers processed by each local authority type over the four previous surveys. Note: Appendix 1 reports the number of consents processed by each local authority in local authority family groups.
Table 1: Number of resource consents processed by local authority type
| Local authority type | Total consents processed | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997/1998 | 1999/2000 | 2001/2002 | 2003/2004 | |
| Regional councils | 9,510 | 8,037 | 11,643 | 10,794 |
| Territorial authorities | 44,975 | 36,000 | 33,159 | 39,556 |
| Unitary authorities | 3,575 | 4,008 | 4,210 | 4,308 |
| Total | 58,060 | 48,045 | 49,012 | 54,658 |
Source: RMA survey of local authorities 2003/2004 and 2001/2002; RMA annual survey of local authorities 1999/2000 and 1997/1998.
As with previous surveys, the majority of resource consents processed were for land use and subdivision consents. Over the last four surveys there has been a gradual increase in the proportion of land use consents. The proportion of subdivision consents increased in 2003/2004, offsetting a downward trend between 1998/99 and 2001/2002 (see Table 2).
Table 2: Percentage of resource consents processed by consent type
View Percentage of resource consents processed by consent type (large table)
1,251 certificates of compliance (issued under section 139 of the RMA) were processed in 2003/2004 compared to 1,069 reported in the 2001/2002 survey.
Changes to consent conditions
Local authorities were asked for the number of applications for changes to resource consent conditions (section 127 of the RMA). In 2003/2004 local authorities (n =86) processed 2,223 applications, an increase from the 1,690 processed in 2001/2002 (n = 83). In 2003/2004, 6.9% of changes to resource consent conditions were publicly notified. Table 3 provides details on the proportion of applications for changes to consent conditions processed by each local authority type and the percentage notified by each local authority type.
Note the statistics regarding notification of applications for changes to consent conditions must be treated with some caution as the question did not provide for the introduction of the limited notification process during the survey period. Some local authorities may not have included applications which followed the limited notification process in their counting.
Table 3: Applications for changes to consent conditions processed by each local authority type and by proportion notified
Public notification of resource consents
Over 2003/2004 local authorities reported 4.8% (2,628) of resource consents were publicly notified compared to 6% (2,921) over 2001/2002. Proportionately, the most frequently notified consents in 2003/2004 were coastal (26%), water (26%) and discharge (11%).
Table 4: Percentage of consents publicly notified by consent type
View Percentage of consents publicly notified by consent type (large table)
Table 5 presents the percentage of resource consents publicly notified by local authority type. Regional councils and unitary authorities have a higher public notification rate than territorial authorities. This is due to regional councils and unitary authorities frequently processing resource consents relating to public resources (water, air, coast) as opposed to private resources such as land.
Table 5: Percentage of consents publicly notified by local authority type
View Percentage of consents publicly notified by local authority type (large table)
Resource consents by activity type
For the 2003/2004 RMA survey a new question was added asking how many resource consents were processed to a decision by activity type or status. Results from councils show that discretionary activities comprised close to two-thirds (66%) of all resource consent applications processed through to a decision, followed by 24% for controlled activities and (11%) non-complying activities. Table 6 shows the proportion for each activity type by each local authority type.
Table 6: Percentage of resource consents by activity type within each local authority type
| Local authority type | Activity type | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| % Controlled | % Discretionary* | % Non-complying | |
| Regional councils | 27 | 72 | 1 |
| Territorial authorities | 23 | 65 | 12 |
| Unitary authorities | 24 | 63 | 13 |
| All | 24 | 66 | 11 |
Source: RMA survey of local authorities 2003/2004.
* Includes Restricted Discretionary.
Note that in Table 6 applications involving activities with more than one status have been processed according to the most restrictive of the status types. Where multiple consents have been applied for in respect of the same project (for example a land use consent, and earthworks consent and subdivision consent for a large residential development) each consent type was treated as an individual consent.
Requests for further information
Local authorities reported that they requested further information (under section 92) for 35% of resource consents processed in 2003/2004, the same proportion as reported in the 2001/2002 survey.
Table 7: Percentage of total resource consents processed where further information was requested
| Year | 1995/1996 (n=54) | 1996/1997 (n=73) | 1997/1998 (n=76) | 1998/1999 (n=82) | 1999/2000 (n=82) | 2001/2002 (n=86) | 2003/2004 (n=86) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % of total consents where further information requested | 22 | 39 | 22 | 28 | 33 | 35 | 35 |
Source: RMA survey of local authorities 2003/2004 and 2001/2002; RMA annual survey of local authorities 1999/2000, 1998/1999 1997/1998, 1996/1997 and 1995/1996.
Figure 1: Regional council requests for further information as a percentage of total resource consents 2003/2004
Figure 2: Territorial authority requests for further information as a percentage of total resource consents 2003/2004
Figure 3: Unitary authority requests for further information as a percentage of total resource consents 2003/2004
See figure at its full size (including text description).
Pre-hearing meetings
Local authorities were asked to provide the number of pre-hearing meetings held and the number which resulted in no hearing being required.
647 pre-hearing meetings were held in 2003/2004, compared to 546 in 2001/2002.
Pre-hearing meetings are a good practice tool for clarifying, mediating or facilitating resolution of an issue associated with an application for resource consent. While it may not always be appropriate to hold a pre-hearing meeting, they save the local authority, submitters, and the applicant time and costs in the resource consent process as well as improve the quality of the decisions that are made in respect of the application.
163 (25%) pre-hearing meetings resolved the issue to the extent that no formal hearing was necessary. This is an increase from that recorded in 2001/2002 (23%) but is lower than the previous two surveys in 1999/2000 (35%) and 1998/1999 (40%).
Pre-hearing meetings were held for 24.6% of all notified resource consent applications, compared with 19% in 2001/2002 and 18% in 1999/2000. These figures do not include informal meetings which are frequently used by local authorities to assist the resource consent process. As with previous surveys, regional councils remain the most frequent users of pre-hearing meetings.
Table 8: Percentage of notified resource consents for which a pre-hearing meeting was held by local authority type
| Local authority type | % notified consents where a pre hearing was held | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997/1998 | 1999/2000 | 2001/2002 | 2003/2004 | |
| Regional councils | 37 | 33 | 35 | 39 |
| Territorial authorities | 12 | 12 | 11 | 9 |
| Unitary authorities | 3 | 3 | 3 | 27 |
Source: RMA survey of local authorities 2003/2004 and 2001/2002; RMA annual survey of local authorities 1999/2000 and 1997/1998.
Resource consent decisions
In 2003/2004 (n=85) the majority (87%) of decisions on resource consent applications were made by local authority officers acting under delegated authority. Regional councils and territorial authorities both reported that 90% of their resource consent decisions are made by local authority officers acting under delegated authority.
Table 9: Percentage of resource consent decisions made by decision maker, local authority type
Resource consents declined and appealed
Local authorities reported that in 2003/2004 0.7% (404) of the resource consent applications processed were declined compared to 0.56% (274) in 2001/2002.
Decisions made on resource consent can be appealed to the Environment Court under section 120 of the RMA. In the current survey 1.2% (651) of all decisions made on resource consents in 2003/2004 were appealed, down from 1.8% (893) in 2001/2002. Over 2003/2004 the proportion of decisions appealed varied between regional councils (2.9%), territorial authorities and unitary authorities (0.8%).
Table 10: Number and Percentage of resource consent decisions appealed by local authority type
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Resource Consent Processing Statistics
March 2005
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