Limited Notified Consent applications

27 July 2023

Update from BoPRC for Lake Structure Owners

This July 23 Update from BoPRC for Lake Structure Owners advises:

Lake Rotoiti – Limited Notified Consent applications

The hearing for the notified Lake Rotoiti lake structure consent applications will be on Monday 28 and Tuesday 29 August at Arawa Park Hotel, Fenton Street, Rotorua. Te Arawa Lakes Trust submitted on the applications and requested a 10-year consent term. You may amend your application to seek a 10-year term to avoid being included in the hearing process. You would then need to apply for a replacement consent within 10 years. If you amend your application and receive a 10-year consent, you won’t be able to extend the consent term. If you wish to amend your application to seek a 10-year consent term, please email Mel Jones on Melanie.Jones@boprc.govt.nz by 5pm, Friday 4 August.

If you’d prefer to continue applying for a 30-year term, your application will need to go to the hearing. The Council planner’s report will be available at least three weeks prior to the hearing and will set out their recommendations, including draft consent conditions. Expert evidence from applicants is due two weeks before the hearing (14 August). Evidence from all applicants is not required.

The decision on whether to grant the applications, consent term and conditions will be made by two independent commissioners. More information about the hearing process is available here. The cost of processing of the applications will be split between the 294 applicants. Hearing costs include:

- Council staff time writing the report and conditions, peer review of the report, reading evidence from applicants and submitters, attending the hearing,

- Hearing commissioners’ time reading reports and evidence, attending the hearing, decision making, report writing, and

- Hearing venue hire.

The commissioners will read all evidence before the hearing, so there is no need to read pre-circulated evidence or your application at the hearing. Given the large number of applicants, it will be most efficient for applicants to coordinate to avoid repetition and save time (and costs) at the hearing. We understand that there is an RMA lawyer and planner working for at least 17 applicants and that the arguments are likely to be common to all applicants.

If you have not already done so, if you intend to speak at the hearing, please email Melanie.Jones@boprc.govt.nz with an estimate of how long you intend to speak for. Please let Mel know as soon as possible so that the hearing schedule can be created and circulated in a timely manner.

The full Update from BoPRC for Lake Structure Owners is available here.