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Deemed permitted activities

A ‘Deemed Permitted’ activity is where a proposal doesn't meet all RMA requirements but doesn't need a normal resource consent. It has been ‘deemed’ to be ‘permitted’ under the RMA. 

Developers are issued a notice by the Council stating the activity is ‘permitted’ with an explanation of why a consent is not required.

 

Boundary activities

A boundary activity is where one or more of the boundary activity rules are not met.

There are three types of rules in the New Plymouth District Plan in this category:

  • daylighting to a side boundary – Res5, Rur7, Bus10, OS8
  • max 30m building length within 10m of a side boundary – Res8.
  • side boundary setback – Res16, Rur17 & 18, Ind16 & 17, Bus17 & OS16.

The boundary on the neighbouring property must be a private boundary, not a public boundary e.g. road, park/reserve, waterbody; and

all written approvals from affected neighbouring owners have been received with the application (new Form 8B) and all plans signed by them.

If a proposal breaks any rule other than those above it is not a Boundary Activity and needs a normal resource consent.  This includes site-wide rules such as site coverage or height of buildings). 

The applicant must include all information listed on Form 9A.  If all the required information is received the Council must then process the application within 10 working days.  If the application is incomplete, the Council must return the application.  There is no ability to put it on hold awaiting further information.  Re-lodgement of a new application will restart the clock back to 10 working days.

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Marginal/Temporary Infringements

A marginal/temporary infringement is an activity where it is considered by Council that a non-compliance with an RMA requirement e.g., district plan rule, NES etc., is minor.

  1. The non-compliance is only ‘marginal’ i.e. just breaching the permitted level or very ‘temporary’ i.e. of very short duration.
  2. There are no effects on the environment in terms of character, intensity or scale compared to the permitted level of the activity.
  3. Any effects on any person are less than minor i.e. there are no affected parties.

The Council can then issue a notice stating the proposal is ‘deemed permitted’ as a marginal/temporary infringement.  The notice must clearly state the reasons for allowing the waiver and how/why no parties are affected.

There is no application process. It is a process for NPDC to use at its discretion.

There is no set time-frame for processing a marginal/temporary infringement, however the Council should process it in a timely manner.

Page last updated: 11:49am Wed 02 July 2025

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