From our Acting Chair: Setting the record straight on consents processing
Recent media coverage about our consents processing may have caused a bit of confusion about how we’re actually tracking in this space.
I want to set the record straight on a few matters and provide the latest processing figures.
One of the media articles resulted from a miscommunication between Environment Minister Penny Simmonds and the Ministry for the Environment. The story claimed that Minister Simmonds instructed her staff to place six-monthly reporting requirements on us to provide assurance that we are working towards meeting statutory timeframes for consents processing.
To be clear, we never received any such request. We have since spoken to the Minister and can confirm that six-monthly reporting is not required.
We’ve also updated the Minister on the work we’re doing to address our legacy consents (those lodged before 1 August 2023). Both Minister Simmonds and her Ministry have expressed their confidence in our work.
Addressing our legacy consents
It was our current Council’s initiative, along with our Chief Executive, to tackle the issue of consents processing head-on.
To provide a bit of context, we have more than 26,000 active consents in Waitaha/Canterbury. It’s true that a backlog has developed due to, among other things, the sheer volume and increasing complexity of consent applications we receive, the speed and complexity of new central government regulations, and the way land and water is used in Canterbury.
Councillor Craig Pauling, Acting Chair
In recent months we’ve put in place measures to address our legacy consents – from hiring more staff, introducing new processes and automation, to working with consultants on ways to lodge applications that avoids too much ‘back and forth’.
Here’s a snapshot of where we’re at.
- As of the end of August 2024, our year-to-date overall timeframe compliance is 54 per cent (combining our legacy consents with the more recent ones), compared to 26 per cent in 2023/24.
- As of now, we’ve addressed 71 per cent of legacy consents.
- We expect to address all legacy consents by the end of this year – meaning a decision will be made on every non-notified backlog consent and every notified consent will have a pathway forward.
- Overall, we are processing more consents than we are receiving.
- Our target is 95 per cent overall compliance in 2025/26.
Planning ahead
We’re conscious that work doesn’t stop once the backlog is addressed. We’re expecting to receive an influx of consent renewals in the coming years, and we’re already thinking about further efficiencies that could be made to ensure our consenting is sustainable.
The key point is, we’re tracking in the right direction. We’ve faced up to the problem and put a plan in place to deal with it, while keeping our consent holders and environmental standards front and centre.
Sorting out consents is our organisation’s number one priority – and the numbers show we’re on target to do just that.