Council rules can be confusing- can you even do what you want to?
You need accurate information and experienced advice when you’re buying property.
Our client was looking to buy land specifically to relocate their existing storage business onto it. They needed to be confident that they could get resource consent, to have the confidence to complete their purchase of the land.
The site was in a location in rural Auckland where resource consent would be required. But was this a good site for their business, and what were the risks? Our client engaged Planning Plus™ to complete a feasibility study to understand the resource consent requirements and the likelihood of success. They wanted to know if they could achieve their goals
The zone itself posed some risks for a storage facility, but from our rural development experience we felt confident good planning arguments could be made. However, the site was heavily affected by natural features and natural hazards, including wetlands, a watercourse, overland flow paths and floodplains. The floodplains were extensive, and after discussion with one of our engineering colleagues it was confirmed the flood waters would be high and fast flowing- not conducive to a facility that stored valuable goods, and significantly increasing likely costs and resource consent risks. The actual developable areas on the site were limited.
Our client used the Planning Plus® feasibility study to inform their decision on purchasing the site and as a result were able to weigh up the various risks with opportunities and what they wanted to achieve overall.
