We have been authorising private structures and activities on the foreshore reserve through the granting of licences under Section 7 of the Reserves and Other Lands Disposal Act 1982 (ROLD).
It has been identified that authorisation of private structures and activities on the foreshore reserve is now required to be by concession under the Conservation Act 1987.
This follows amendments to the Conservation Act that included a Part 3B requirement for activity on public conservation land to be authorised by a concession.
We are now transitioning from authorisation by ROLD licence to authorisation by concession.
All new applications for authorisation of private use of the foreshore reserve will need to be applications for concessions under the Conservation Act.
I have had my licence renewed - what happens next?
Sounds Foreshore Reserve licences that have been processed and renewed up until August 2021, will remain in effect up until they expire when authorisation by a concession will then be required. No action is required by those of you who have received your Deed of Renewal.
When your renewed licence expires, you will then need to apply for a concession to authorise your structure or activity for the continuing occupation on the reserve.
I have applied to renew my licence – what happens next?
The remaining applications for renewal that are still to be processed will transition from ROLD licences to concessions. You will not need to submit a new application.
If you are one of these applicants, we will contact you to seek confirmation that you wish to obtain a concession authorising your continued occupation of the Sounds Foreshore Reserve. Confirmation can be sent by email and following this the application will be processed as soon as possible.
Once you have agreed to your application being processed under the Conservation Act it can move on to the next part of processing. We will then check your previous SFR licence against the information we gathered during our site visits in 2020, to confirm whether you are eligible for a concession.
If you are eligible for a concession, we will continue to process your application and we will contact you to let you know:
- when an advisor is assigned to your application
- once we have prepared a fee estimate for processing your application
- if we need any further information
- when we have further information for you (for example if we have identified other structures on the Sounds Foreshore Reserve adjacent to your property, that are not on your existing licence and may require removal or an alternative concession)
- once your concession is ready for you to sign.
What if I’m not eligible for a concession?
We will let you know if you are not eligible for a concession.
If you are not eligible for a concession, we will provide you with the next steps applicable to you. This may include applying for a new Sounds Foreshore concession, or the removal of part or all of the structure on the Sounds Foreshore Reserve adjacent to your property.
How much will the renewal cost?
Processing fee
A processing fee is charged for processing concession applications to cover the cost of undertaking this work.
The minimum fee for processing the remaining concession applications will be $2,022.41 plus GST, which is the same as the minimum fee for processing applications for renewal of ROLD Act licences that expired in 2020.
The processing fee may be greater than $2,022.41 plus GST where additional work is required. For example, there are additional site-specific issues to work through (such as determining the age of a structure, or the location of the Sounds Foreshore Reserve boundary), or where significant additional communication with the applicant is needed.
Note: You are required to pay the processing fee regardless of the outcome of your application.
Processing fees will be invoiced after the decision is made on your concession application (or if the total processing fee is more than $3,000 you may be part invoiced during the process, with the balance due after the decision is made).
Annual fees
You will need to pay an ongoing activity fee each for year that you hold the concession.
The activity fee covers the ground rental equivalent of the structure(s) covered by your concession. It equates to the rental fee under ROLD licences and will be based on the same rental fee calculation used for the recent licence renewals.
We engaged a Marlborough registered property valuer in 2019 to provide advice for setting of rental fees for the next 10-year licence term for renewal of ROLD licences that expired in 2020.
This advice will be used for determining concession activity fees. The last valuation exercise for the Sounds Foreshore Reserve was completed in 2010.
You will be advised of the activity fee once the new valuation data has been applied to your concession application.
Some concessions may also require a management fee to cover the time required by us in managing the concession.
What are the processing timeframes?
An advisor will be in touch with you when they start processing your concession application. For some existing licence holders this will be in 2023.
If your application for a concession is approved after 1 January 2021, the renewal deed will commence from 1 January 2021 and activity fees will be payable from this date.
Can I see copies of key documents?
Documents sent to all licence holders:
Where can I go to for help/advice?
We appreciate that this renewal process is different to past renewal processes and that you may have questions.
Email questions to: permissionsupdates@doc.govt.nz