MDC Achieves High Rate Of Consent Processing

Marlborough was in the top half dozen busiest areas handling resource consents in the 2010-11 year, processing a similar number to Christchurch City.

The Ministry for the Environment biennial survey of local authorities measures councils’ performance working with the Resource Management Act.

With 1100 consent applications dealt with in the 12-month period to June 2011, the Marlborough District Council sat just behind the Northland Regional Council and the Christchurch City Council and ahead of Bay of Plenty Regional Council and the Tasman District Council.

Despite the high numbers, this is a marked drop since the 2007-08 year when processed applications peaked at 1934.

The survey shows the Marlborough District Council has also lifted its performance rate by processing 95% of all applications on time, a big step up from the 53% achieved in the 2007-08 year.

“I realise that was a period of boom which did put Council staff under heavy pressure and that things are now much quieter but it’s still very satisfying to see the level of service raised so significantly,” said Council’s Hearing Committee chairman David Dew.

The improvement is partly attributed to a change of approach from the Council regulatory section which now requires more information from applicants at the time an application is lodged, prompted by the 2009 measures to streamline the Resource Management Act.

With Councils now subject to financial penalties where they do not meet consent timetables, it was necessary to take a more efficient approach to dealing with applications, no longer accepting deficient applications or allowing extended periods of negotiation between applicants and Council staff, said Councillor Dew.

In the last year, more than a third of the applications lodged in Marlborough were sent back to applicants for more information before they were accepted for processing.

Councillor Dew suggested applicants could speed up the process for themselves if they sought more advice before lodging an application.

One of the biggest causes of delay was created by applicants filing incomplete applications lacking all the required information or supporting documents, he said.

“The continuing demands on our important water resources and our fragile coastal environment mean that seeking consents under the Resource Management Act is an increasingly complex matter. However one thing I hope we can achieve with the review of all Council plans is to make our processes more user-friendly.”

An extended timeframe was necessary for just 6% of the applications submitted in Marlborough during the year.