North Shore City media release

North Shore City streamlines consent process
April 1, 2008

North Shore City is now certifying all survey plans electronically, as part of its drive to streamline the resource consent process and support e-government initiatives.

A survey plan, which is prepared by a registered surveyor, is required as part of the resource consent process for a new subdivision. The plan is a legal document showing the new boundaries of the site.

Trevor Cullen, Team Leader Subdivisions says certifying these plans electronically has dramatically cut down the amount of time it takes to process consents.

“We previously received them in a paper based format which meant there was a lot of administration time involved,” he says. “Receiving the surveys electronically means we can now process them much faster.

“By law we have to process survey plans within 10 working days but this online method helps us to turn them around in just a few days,” says Trevor.

North Shore City has been working closely with surveyors to ensure a smooth transition.

“We have regular forums with local surveyors,” says Trevor. “We had one early last year and e-survey, as it is known, was one of the main topics. We advised surveyors that e-survey would become mandatory and that they needed to get on board to make it a success.”

“We also had to review our internal systems and processes. As with any new process we had a few technical hiccups along the way but we’ve made some key changes and are really pleased with the outcome,” he says.

“Since its introduction we have been working through the issues that the surveyors have been having in lodging their plans with a view to resolving any problems at an early stage.

E-survey became mandatory last September. Surveys are initially sent to LINZ (Land Information New Zealand) via their Landonline website. LINZ lodges the technical data and then passes the plan on to the relevant local authority for certification.

ENDS

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