Stage 3: Your resource consent is approved or declined
You'll get a letter in the mail telling you whether your application has been approved or declined. The time taken to inform you will depend on whether the application was notified and whether there was a hearing.
If your resource consent is approved
Your resource consent will tell you:
- what conditions the council has put on the way you may carry out the activity. These conditions will aim to reduce the environmental effects of the activity. Sometimes conditions can include administrative and monitoring charges
- the reasons for the council's decision
- the main findings of fact
- the key issues in contention and a summary of the evidence heard (if a hearing is held)
- the relevant plans and policy documents considered by the council
- whether you or the council need to monitor the environmental effects of the activity. For example, if your resource consent lets you take water from a stream, you may be required to keep records of the amount of water you take
- whether your resource consent has an expiry date, and what it is. Some resource consents last forever, while others have a limited life. You have to apply to the council at least six months before the expiry date if you want to extend it.
For applications that were notified, you generally have to wait until an appeal period of 15 working days has passed before you start work on the activity. This gives people time to lodge an appeal with the Environment Court if they still oppose your application. The resource consent isn't officially issued until any appeals have been resolved. If there are no appeals, you can start work at the end of the appeals period. Bear in mind that only one percent of all decisions are appealed.
Once a resource consent has been issued, in most cases you need to give effect to the consent within a certain timeframe, or it will lapse and you will need to apply again. Unless otherwise set out in a condition in the resource consent, the consent will lapse after five years. Make sure you understand what applies in your case.
If your resource consent is declined
If you think the council's decision to decline the consent is unfair, you may be able to formally object to the council (depending on the circumstances), or you can lodge an appeal with the Environment Court. You have to make your objection or appeal in writing within 15 working days of receiving the council's decision. You can also object or appeal if you don't like the conditions on a resource consent.
If you formally object to the council, you may be invited to a meeting of councillors and officers where you can explain your objections. If you appeal to the Environment Court, Judges and Commissioners must consider the decision that was made by the council in making its decision. The Court will then confirm or overturn the council's decision.
Get professional advice before you lodge an appeal. It can be expensive and time-consuming, and you might not win. A lawyer or other resource management professional should be able to tell you whether your appeal is likely to be successful.
For more information on appeals see 'An Everyday Guide to the RMA' booklet 6.1 Your Guide to the Environment Court.
Can the conditions ever change?
The council has the right to review the conditions in your resource consent but only under certain circumstances. In some cases a council might also include a specific condition on the approval providing for the review of conditions at set times.
You can also apply to the council to change or cancel any condition (except the duration) at any time. You need to outline your reasons and the changes proposed. The council will be concerned about any additional effects and the effect on affected persons, including whether any new persons are affected (compared with when the consent was initially granted).
Can I transfer the resource consent?
This depends on the type of consent. Any consent to do something on the land (called a land-use consent) is attached to the land and transfers to any new owner when you sell the land.
Other types of consent (for example, a consent to take water) might be able to be transferred with the land to any new owner. Whether this applies depends on what the consent, and sometimes what the plan, says. It's not automatic. If you're not sure about whether your consent can be transferred, ask council staff.
You can also give up (surrender) your resource consent. This will mean you no longer have the right to do the activity, and you no longer have to pay any monitoring or supervision charges to the council.
Doing everything properly at the start can save a lot of time, money and possible misunderstandings later on. Treat your application as the start of your project, not an obstacle to be dealt with at the last minute.
