Who to talk to about your consent applicationMe kōrero ki a wai e pā ana ki taku tono whakaaetanga?

What we consider

• Potential or actual effects on the environment
• How the activity could affect other people’s values, use and enjoyment of the environment

In most cases consultation with people who may be affected by your resource consent application is not required. However, the Regional Council recommend that you talk with people who may be affected by your application even if you expect that your application will be non-notified.  If the processing officer considers there are people who are adversely affected by your proposed activity, your application may be notified.

People who you may want to talk to include:

Regional Council Consents Team

If you want to talk to someone from the consents team before lodging your application with Council please contact the Consents Advisor on 06 835 9200.

If you have a question about an application that is currently being processed you can call either the Consents Advisor or reception on 06 835 9200 and ask to speak to the planner processing your application.

Neighbours/Landowners

Your proposed activity could affect their enjoyment of the natural environment or affect their use of natural resources. This is particularly relevant for:

• New bores and groundwater takes
• Discharges to land, air or water

Organisations or authorities

• Local Councils – for resource consents required under their District Plans, or for building consents and other permissions.
• Department of Conservation – for activities that may affect native flora and fauna and/or create barriers to fish migration, such as culverts in streams, discharges to land and water, and riparian vegetation clearance.
• Fish & Game – for activities that will degrade or remove areas of habitat and/or create significant barriers to migration of sport fish in popular fishing rivers.
• Heritage New Zealand - Pouhere Taonga - where there is possible disturbance to an archaeological site. There is not a single complete register of this information in one place but you can check the Heritage NZ- Pouhere Taonga website, District/City Plans or Pataka.
• Hawke’s Bay District Health Board, Public Health Unit – for activities that could adversely affect public health e.g. discharges to water that might impact the quality of a drinking water supply.

Tangata Whenua (Māori)

Māori have a strong cultural and spiritual connection to the land, water, air and sea that is a significant part of their cultural identity. Examples of activities tangata whenua are interested in could include, but are not limited to:

• Discharges of effluent to water or land where it may enter water.
• Discharges of contaminants to surface water or groundwater.
• Groundwater takes that affect puna (springs), or that that affect flows in waterways where allocation is approaching or exceeds allocation limits.
• Activities that disturb wāhi tapu areas.
• Diversion of water from one waterway to another
• Activities in the coastal marine area
• Activities within, adjacent to or directly affecting a statutory area established by Treaty Settlements.

Activities in the Coastal Marine Area

When applying for resource consent for activities in the coastal and marine area, there are cases where you are required to consult with Customary Marine Title applicant groups before lodging your application.

Tools to help you

Pataka

This tool is hosted on this website and uses digital mapping to show the location and extent of iwi and hapū resources in Hawke's Bay.

Pātaka brings together all the information held by local and regional councils and includes:

• Location and contact information for each local marae
• Areas covered by statutory acknowledgements under Claims Settlement Acts and contact information for Post Settlement Entities (Trusts)
• Areas covered by an application for Customary Marine Title under the MACA Act and contact details for these applicants
• Areas covered by Iwi/Hapū Management Plans, and more information on these is also found on the plan here

Pataka Mapping Tool

Useful links

• Te Kahui Mangai – Directory of Iwi and Maori Organisations
• Marine and Coastal Area – Takutai Moana – Ministry of Justice
• Fish and Game NZ
• Schedule 1A

 For more detailed information see the following:

• Tangata Whenua
• Statutory Areas
• Structures in Lakes
• Coastal Marine Area Application

Tangata Whenua

Activities that have the potential to negatively affect the environment can have adverse effects on tangata whenua by impacting their cultural, social and economic well-being. Tangata whenua can include more than one iwi, hapu (sub-tribe) or marae depending on the area affected by your application.

Māori have an inherent responsibility as kaitiaki (guardians) to protect the environment within their rohe (tribal territory) over which they hold mana whenua, mana wai and mana moana (tribal authority and responsibilities over land, water and the sea resources). 

Who should you contact

Using the Regional Council’s online mapping tool Pataka you can find the contact details for:

• Marae located close to your activity who may be affected
• Iwi/hapu groups, treaty settlement entities (trusts) or coastal marine title applicants who could be potentially affected by your proposed application.

The Regional Council’s Consents Advisor can also be contacted should you want help contacting these groups prior to lodging your application.

Statutory Acknowledgements

Statutory Acknowledgements are an acknowledgement by the Crown that forms part of Treaty Claim Settlements in legislation that recognise the cultural, spiritual, historical and traditional association of iwi and hapū with particular areas (known as Statutory Areas).

Statutory areas cover areas of land, geographic features, lakes, rivers, wetlands and coastal areas that are Crown land.  However, activities carried out on private properties can have effects on statutory areas beyond the property boundary (eg, a discharge from private land that may affect a river that is within a statutory area).

Full details of Statutory Acknowledgement areas within the Hawke’s Bay region can be viewed in Pataka or the Statutory Acknowledgements appended to the Regional Resource Management Plan and Regional Coastal Environment Plan.  Statements of association for each area are also featured to explain the cultural, spiritual, historical and traditional association of the iwi or hapū group with the statutory acknowledgement area.  

What happens when your proposed activity is within, adjacent to or directly affecting a Statutory Area

The Regional Council must provide a summary of any resource consent application for an activity that is within, adjacent to, or directly affecting a statutory area to the trustees of the relevant Post Settlement Governance Entity. You may prefer to contact the relevant Trust and seek the views of the trustees before lodging your applicant.  

How to contact the relevant trustees

Contact details can be found on Pataka, or by contacting the Regional Council’s consents advisor.

Maps showing statutory acknowledgement areas of the above groups are also attached to the Hawke’s Bay Regional Resource Management Plan (RRMP) in Schedule 1A along with the statements of association. These statements of association explain the cultural, spiritual, historical, and traditional association of the iwi or hapū group with the statutory acknowledgement area.

Structures in Lakes

The beds, or parts of the beds, of the following lakes have been vested in new owners under Treaty Claim Settlement Acts. Before any construction or modification of a structure can be permitted in these lakes, you may need written approval from the trustees of the relevant Post Settlement Entity (Trust). You may wish to contact the relevant trustees prior to lodging your application. These contact details can be found on Pataka under the ‘Treaty Partners’ layer, or by contacting the Consents Advisor at the Regional Council.

Coastal Marine Area Applications

A resource consent is required for some activities in coastal areas and the coastal marine area. All of the coast has customary significance to iwi, hapū and whānau.  The MACA Act replaced the Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004.  The new Act implemented a ‘no-ownership’ regime over the marine and coastal area (with some exceptions) and introduced mechanisms to recognise Māori customary rights in some areas.

Prior to submitting a resource consent application in the coastal marine area, you must notify and seek the views of applicant groups who have submitted an application for Customary Marine Title and those who hold Customary Marine Title under the Marine and Coastal Area (Takutai Moana) Act 2011 (MACA Act).

The Ministry of Justice website has a useful explanatory video of the MACA Act and what recognition of these customary rights provides for.

What does this mean for resource consent applicants?

Hawkes Bay Regional Council encourages resource applicants to notify and seek the views of Customary Marine Title groups that have lodged a CMT application where your resource consent application falls within this area.  The views of the CMT applicant group are relevant to the Regional Council’s assessment of the environmental effects of your proposed activity.

• Before you lodge your resource consent application you are required to notify the CMT applicant group and seek the views of that group on your resource consent application
• When you lodge your resource consent application you must include a summary of the views of the CMT group and any outcomes of that consultation.

How to talk to the relevant CMT applicant groups

Maps of the Customary Marine Title and Protected Customary Rights application areas in Hawke’s Bay will be uploaded onto Pataka. Applications that have been made through direct engagement with the Crown can be found on the Ministry of Justice website.

Advisory note: the Regional Council aims to keep Pataka information up to date. You can also contact the Council’s consents team to confirm which CMT applicant groups are located within your area, or contact the Ministry of Justice Marine and Coastal Area team at maca@justice.govt.nz.

MACA FAQ's