Duty Planner Service

Council offers a duty planner service to assist members of the public with general consents advice. The duty planner is a staff member from the consents team who can provide a general indication as to whether a consent is likely to be required or not for a particular activity, provide general guidelines on the consent process, and advise on what type of information or consultation you might need to provide with your application. The more specific the information you can present the more specific the advice given can be.

The duty planner service cannot tell you if your application might be granted or not, it cannot give a full assessment of your activity, nor can it help prepare an application. It is initial general guidance only to help you understand the process, indicate areas of interest and help you get started. If you need more help with your application we recommend you engage a professional.

The Duty Planner service can be via email, phone call or in person. It provides one free 30 minute Duty Planning appointment for basic or general guidance for simple matters or projects. This includes a meeting (20 minutes) plus time for research and replying. If you need more than one meeting additional meetings may be charged (at the hourly staff rate, see fees and charges)

Please access the duty planner service by ringing Council’s Customer Service on 03 546 0200 and ask to make a duty planner appointment. They will be able to tell you the available time slots and make the booking. Please provide your name and contact details, details of your enquiry (e.g. the location/property address for the activity, information about the activity/proposal, your question, and a map or plan can be very useful). Alternatively you can email duty.planner@ncc.govt.nz. Please provide the same information.

Note: Sometimes you might need to make a separate appointment with Duty Planning and Duty Building. Duty Planning is more questions about rules in relation to what you can do on a specific property, siting of the building, proximity to boundaries etc, whereas Duty Building is questions more about the building structure, building materials and standards under the Building Act.

As mentioned, these services are for general guidance only, they are not intended to evaluate the particular merits of the proposal or provide detailed comment on complex matters. For that you will need independent advice.