FOCUS ON: Council resource consents

With summer around the corner, you may have decided to do some work around the home. If you're thinking of building a new garden shed, fence, carport or other structure, moving a cabin onto your property or pruning a tree overhanging your boundary, Whanganui District Council has this advice before you get started.

Accessory buildings

Cabins, containers and carports are classified as accessory buildings or temporary relocated buildings under the Whanganui District Plan (see the online link in the red box below).

Accessory buildings located in front of the principal building – such as your house – can affect the look of the street. Accessory buildings can dominate property frontages, negatively impact the appearance of the property from the street and obscure views of the house.

Cabins

If you’re thinking of placing a cabin on your property as a short or long-term solution for accommodation, ask the supplier to place it behind or to the side of your main residence.

If it is placed in front of your house, you may be in breach of the District Plan and you may be asked by the council to move it (and the supplier may charge extra to remove or relocate it). If in doubt, call the council and ask to speak with the planning team.

Shipping containers

The council does not allow long-term placement of shipping containers on the front of your property. However, in some instances short-term placement of up to seven days may be permitted for the loading or unloading of goods.

You can find the rules around this in more detail in the District Plan under Temporary Activities.

Again, if you have any doubts, please call the council and ask to speak with the planning team.

Carports, garages and garden sheds

If you want to construct a carport, garage or garden shed in front of your residence, you need to apply for a resource consent. These structures are assessed on an individual basis.

Fences

In general, the council does not intervene in disputes between neighbours over fencing issues unless a height restriction has been breached.

There are rules in the District Plan that give height restrictions for fences.

In most cases, any fence erected along a front boundary shall not exceed 1.6 metres in height and any side or rear boundary fence shall not exceed 1.8m in height.

You can apply to the council for an exception to this rule, and this will require a resource consent application.

For more information about fences and boundaries, visit: www.whanganui.govt.nz/fences – if you’re still unsure, call the council before you start.

Natural hazards Land stability areas

Most residents are unaware of what a land stability area is or where they may be located. Mostly, these are areas in parts of Whanganui where there are cliffs or areas of subsidence.

There are rules about what you can do in these areas to ensure that activities do not worsen stability or accelerate subsidence on the site or surrounding areas. They are found in the District Plan under Natural Hazards.

To complete any excavation, trenching or construction of any structure or retaining wall such as creating paths, removing vegetation of more than five-square metres (5m²), or making a building platform, you must first apply for a resource consent.

The consent must be accompanied by a geotechnical report from a suitably qualified geotechnical engineer. You can search online for a geotechnical engineer or visit: www.whanganui.govt.nz/geotech-search

If you think you live in an area that might be classified as a land stability area, refer to the District Plan or call the council’s planning team for advice.

Trees and property boundaries

If your tree’s branches are hanging over the boundary between your property and your neighbour’s, and the tree is not a protected tree, the neighbour is entitled to trim the overhanging branches up to the boundary line.

They have to take care not to kill your tree or remove parts of the tree that are on your side of the boundary, and the trimmings are to be placed back on your property without incurring any damage – you can find more information at: www.whanganui.govt.nz/trees