Week 6 - People

Before you do any consultation, you need to think about the nature, extent and size of potential effects. What kind of effects will your proposed activity create – visual effects, traffic, noise, dust? How far will they extend – to adjoining properties, to the whole neighbourhood, to a stream catchment?  How large are those effects in the context of the environment – minor, moderate, significant? Those who may be consulted include:

• owners, occupiers and users of adjacent and nearby land
• downstream water users
• users of the same groundwater resource
• occupiers of land living down-wind of a proposed discharge to air
• people or groups with a specific interest in the site or area (such as guardians of an estuary)
• tāngata whenua (iwi, hapū, whānau)
• statutory, infrastructure and utility organisations (such as government departments, councils, and roading and rail authorities).

How do I consult?

Where do I start?

Discuss the proposal with the council who may be able to help you list the parties to consult.

Prepare consultation material such as:

• a brief written description and plans of your idea/proposal
• a tentative assessment of environmental effects
• measures you would propose to reduce the extent or impact of those effects.

Consult with identified persons and groups:

• by letter (usually) in the first instance with an offer of follow-up contact to discuss the proposal in the following days
• by telephone (where possible) to confirm that they’ve received the information you sent, and to arrange further communication (preferably face-to-face) to determine any issues
• at an on-site meeting, where you explain your proposal.