New resource management laws: what happens next for Canterbury

The Natural Environment Act and Planning Act have received Royal assent today and are now law, beginning Canterbury’s transition to a new resource management system.

Canterbury Regional Council (Environment Canterbury) Chair Dr Deon Swiggs says Royal assent is a significant milestone, but the focus now shifts to what the changes mean in practice.

“Some changes will happen relatively quickly, while others will take several years. Our job is to make that transition as clear as possible so people understand what is changing, when it is changing, and what it means for them.”

The new legislation will eventually replace the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA), but the change will be phased. Existing regional plans and many existing processes will continue during the transition.

What it means for resource consents

Some of the first changes will affect resource consenting. Around 6,000 existing Canterbury resource consents will have their durations extended as part of the transition to the new system. However, we need to wait for further direction from Government on what the new expiration dates will be before we can take action to extend these consents.
Environment Canterbury is identifying the affected consents and will contact consent holders with more information.

In the meantime, people should continue to apply for resource consents using existing processes and comply with existing consent conditions and regulatory obligations.

“Through the transition, our focus remains the same - looking after Canterbury’s environment while enabling our communities and economy to thrive. We have a lot of change ahead of us, and we will work alongside the City and District Councils, mana whenua and government to make sure we get the implementation right,” Chair Swiggs said.

Environment Canterbury is working through the implications of the new legislation and will provide further information to resource users, partners and communities as changes take effect.