Preparation of a Subdivision Application

To help you prepare an application you should employ a representative, usually a Registered Surveyor (for information on how to contact a consultant see  Consultants), who will advise you about how to subdivide your property and draw up a proposed subdivision (scheme plan). This plan and the accompanying Assessment of Environmental Effects (AEE) are submitted to the Council for subdivision consent, which takes approximately 20 working days to process. 

Plans and other material supplied with a subdivision consent application should be accurate and provide enough detail to enable any person to gain a reasonable understanding of the application. If you are unsure about the information required, you are likely to need professional help. The main document supporting your application will be the AEE. The amount of detail provided in the AEE should correspond with the scale and nature of the anticipated effects of the subdivision. Generally, the larger or more complex the effects, the more detailed the AEE should be. Be careful that this document fairly and reasonably reflects what you want to do on your property or how the activity will operate. This document, and those other documents supporting the application will be used as a condition of consent (if consent is granted) and therefore can be used to control the effects of your development. Environment Court decisions of interest include Clevedon Protection Society v Manukau City Council and Body Corporate v Auckland City Council.

The AEE is an accurate and objective analysis of the effects of the proposed activity or structure on the environment. It should be remembered that the words 'effect' and 'environment' have been defined in the Resource Management Act 1991. 

'Effect' includes:

• any positive or adverse effect 
• any temporary or permanent effect 
• any past, present, or future effect 
• any cumulative effect which arises over time or in combination with other effects 
• any potential effect of high probability 
• any potential effect of low probability which has a high potential impact

'Environment' includes:

• ecosystems and their constituent parts, including people and communities 
• all natural and physical resources 
• amenity values 
• the social, economic, aesthetic, and cultural conditions which affect the matters above.

The Environment Court in its decision Affco NZ Ltd. v Northland Abattoir Company Ltd has stated that "consent authorities and would-be submitters should not themselves have to engage in detailed investigations to enable them to assess the effects. It is an applicant's responsibility' to provide an AEE". If an AEE is not supplied the application will be considered to be incomplete and will not be accepted for processing.

It is common to be required to provide the following information, where appropriate, with application documents:

• Infrastructure assessment (stormwater, water & sewerage and other services)
• Geo-technical reports (which assess land stability issues)
• Flood plain assessments
• Contamination assessment (on known contaminated sites, and land used or previously used for horticultural, vineyard, orchards or glasshouse activities)
• Landscape planting plans where the proposal includes the removal of vegetation

Preparation of the AEE can be a complex matter. For information on preparing an AEE, refer to Matters to be included in an AEE and How do I prepare an AEE.