Whakatane District Council queries Ministry's conclusions

The Whakatane District Council feels it has been unfairly highlighted by the Minister for the Environment in the latest comparative survey of processing resource consent applications by local authorities. The Council is seeking clarification from the Ministry to ensure a fair comparison has been made.

The Director Environment and Policy, David Bewley, has queried the basis for the Ministry’s conclusions and puts some of the results down to a difference of interpretation when answering some of the questions.

Mr Bewley said: “The results used to make this comparison did not take into account extensions of time that the Resource Management Act 1991 provides for. The Ministry recommends that extensions be used in justified cases to enable better resource management decisions to be made. If these extensions are taken into account, the Councils results would show it processed 83% of resource consents within timeframes, not the 45% reported”.

The survey compares the results in 2005/06 with its performance in 2007/08 and concludes there has been a major drop in performance when in fact the comparison is not based on the same information.

Mr Bewley commented: “That despite the conclusion of the survey, the Council recognised during the 2007/08 year that resource consent processes could be improved. The Council employed two extra planners and increased administrative support to reduce reliance on external consultants. These measures have seen a marked improvement in how quickly consents are processed with 89% of consents being processed within statutory timeframes for the current year. We have also reduced how often a time extension is needed. The Council also participated in the Ministry’s Targeted Assistance programme to audit and further improve its procedures”.

Mr Bewley says developers, builders and ratepayers can continue to have confidence in how the Council processes resource consents. The survey confirms that the Council is following best practice in many areas. While timeframes are important, there are many reasons why rigid compliance with set timeframes will not always lead to the best or fairest outcome for applicants and submitters.