Essential to any land development project is obtaining the necessary consents and approvals from territorial local authorities. Under the Resource Management Act territorial authorities are required to develop plans and policies stating their desired use for land and resources. Essential to determining the feasibility of your land development project an understanding between the client and the territorial authority must be achieved that proposals fall in line with plans and policies before a consent is granted.

The Resource Management Act 1991 underpins the subdivision and use of land in New Zealand. In order to achieve the principle of sustainable management of natural and physical resources a balancing act must be achieved where the maximum benefit can be achieved to the community while mitigating as many negative effects as socially desirable. The territorial authority set rules and regulations controlling subdivision and land development in order to achieve a desirable balance. It is against these rules that your application for subdivision is judged and consent granted.

The Act promotes sustainability by the mitigation of effects and calls for the consideration of environmental impacts when undertaking any land development project including subdivision. Consideration needs to be given to the effects of the development on the natural and physical environment, ecosystems, people and their communities, amenity values etc. To assist you with understanding the RMA we have produced a selection of sections from the Act to the right of this page.

Essentially the Act allows any activity to takes place so long as all the effects are mitigated. Many territorial authorities, however, have adopted a rules based approach restricting the use of land. This approach can make the process of receiving resource consents complicated as by listing what can not be done to land narrows the scope of what can be done.

As land development professionals, Tomlinson & Carruthers are involved in the planning and resource management process at all levels. We utilize a multifaceted approach to achieve the client’s goals at minimal time and cost. We work with territorial authorities on behalf of the client to ensure the client’s needs and community standards are maintained if not improved. Should a resource consent application require public notification or hearings, we give evidence and argue the merits of our clients’ proposals. We also have expertise in the planning process and have made submissions on Proposed District Plans of the territorial authorities throughout the country.