Landowner approvals
Ohiatanga ā-hunga whai whenua
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What is a landowner approval?
The council is a landowner, and sometimes needs to give approval to people or groups who want to use council owned land.
Landowner approvals generally involve parks or reserves but can include all council facilities. This approval is processed by our Land Advisory Services Team (LAS).
For one off events see our page on event permits.
Before you start
A landowner approval is not a resource consent or a building consent. You will usually need an approval to get a consent. If you have a consent on a reserve, you will also need an approval as well. Find out more in our
building and consents section.
When you need a landowner approval
Examples of activities which require approvals include:
- commercial activity on a reserve like a night market
- laying stormwater and wastewater pipes in a reserve
- power, water or communications companies seeking to install infrastructure in council land
- conducting research on a park
- mobile vendors trading on a reserve or park
- creating or installing something, e.g. fencing, plants, playgrounds, small buildings, sports facilities
- accessing a construction site through a park
- easements, rights of way and other legal permissions.
An approval request can be for any length of time, including:
- very short-term access
- medium-term occupation or use
- long-term use involving a licence or lease.
Our tip
If you want an approval to be part of a larger event - for instance if you are a food stall at a market held in a park – get in touch with the main organiser. We grant an approval for the event, not to individual vendors.
What we can't approve
We can't approve:
- resource or building consents
- work done in offsite mitigation as a condition for gaining a consent in another location
- requests for land not owned by the council, for example:
- Department of Conservation (DoC) land
- private land
- land leased or owned by Auckland Transport.
How to apply for a landowner approval
Download the checklist and the application form:
Our tip
By providing as much detail as possible in your initial application we can process your request in less time. See the checklist for what you need to include.
Additional Content
Landowner approval fees
There is a cost to get a landowner approval assessment.
We charge an upfront deposit, and an hourly processing rate. These both depend on the complexity of your application.
If the processing time doesn't reach the amount of your deposit, we will give you a refund.
Read fee table.
| Application type | Deposit |
|---|
| Basic application | $570 |
| Complex application | $1410 |
| Standard application | $990 |
There is a 50 per cent reduction in all fees for:
- registered community groups
- incorporated societies
- charitable trusts.
What happens next
After we have received your application we will review it to make sure it is complete and that LAS is the right team to help you.
We will get in touch with you within five working days to discuss the next steps.
If you have any questions about the approval process, email landadvisors@aklc.govt.nz or call our us on 09 301 0101 and ask to speak to Community Facilities Land Advisory Services.
How we assess your request
Applying for an approval does not guarantee that it will be granted.
We will weigh up our responsibilities as a protector of the land with the interests of the applicant and any public interest.
We can decline or approve any application, and the decision can't be appealed.
Most applications can be approved by LAS after consultation with the relevant local board.
Sometimes a local board will want to discuss the decision itself. If that happens, a business report will be put to a local board agenda.
Approvals have a range of conditions which you will need to agree to in writing.
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