Major planning shake-up set to transform council consenting

A Canterbury council boss says staff are preparing for the biggest change to planning and consent rules in 35 years, but for now it's "business as usual".

Waimakariri District Council chief executive Jeff Millward says council staff are continuing to process and enforce consents under the old Resource Management Act, after the replacement bills passed through Parliament last month.

Canterbury's councils have already begun work on producing the Waitaha Canterbury Regional Spatial plan - a long-term blueprint for the region's growth and infrastructure. It will lay the groundwork to implement the new planning framework for the region.

"The establishment of the spatial plan is an immediate priority, which will inform and ideally lead to reducing consent volumes," Mr Millward said.

"The shift to the new legislation and frameworks will be in 2029/30, which will completely replace the old RMA instruments once the transition dates are set by the Government."

In the meantime, staff are busy getting their heads around the new legislation, Mr Millward said.

"In the future we will operate under a fully centralised and streamlined regional framework that is expected to reduce consenting volumes."

Hurunui District Council chief executive Hamish Dobbie said the new legislation represents the biggest change to planning and consent rules since 1991.

"The RMA has served its purpose for 35 years and we are now moving to a different paradigm for planning and hopefully the new acts will address some of the complexities and create an environment people can work with.

"Potentially, if it's done right, it will provide a greater level of certainty for doing things."

But the changes will come at a cost, with official estimates showing local government faces an $860m bill to get the new planning system up and running.

Producing the Waitaha Canterbury Regional Spatial Plan is estimated to cost between $7m and $10m.

The costs are made up of establishing new land-use, environmental and spatial plans, along with new compliance, monitoring and enforcement requirements.

Less consents will be required, as more land-use activities are enabled under the legislation, but it will take time for the changes to take effect, Mr Dobbie said.

"Politicians tell us the legislation is designed to enable, but it still needs to provide environmental protection, so it's a delicate balance.

"I'm personally wary of any Government which says it's going to simplify something, because they usually end up putting in more rules.

"But if it provides greater certainty for applicants, landowners and neighbours then it's pretty positive."

Mr Dobbie said the transition period between the existing RMA and implementing the new legislation is bound to cause some frustration.

Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) said councils welcomed changes which reduced red tape, drive housing development and improve infrastructure delivery.

But the cost of implementing the changes should not fall on ratepayers, LGNZ president Rehette Stoltz said.

"The RMA has been too slow, too costly and has made it harder to build the homes and infrastructure our communities need and has seen the state of our natural environment decline."