There must be one regional coastal plan for the coastal marine area of each region. It may be included as part of the regional plan . Each territorial authority must have one district plan to help them carry out their functions. The plan must not be inconsistent with any national policy statement or the regional policy statement. The district plan may include rules that prohibit, regulate or allow activities.
Resource consents replace the many different permissions granted under previous law.
They would have been called permits, licences, rights consents, approvals, Order in Council, or authority. Water permit Discharge permit Coastal permit. All applications for consents follow the same procedures. The basic rule is that the applicant, whether a landowner intending to subdivide or a farmer needing water for irrigation, should check out district and regional plans to see what type and category of consent is needed. The applicant will also need to work out what impacts the proposal is likely to have on the environment and submit this to the consent authority.