Proposed Resource Management Act Fees & Charges for 2026/27

Horowhenua District Council is asking the community for feedback on the proposed Resource Management Act (RMA) fees and charges for the 2026/27 financial year.

Consultation opens on 17 February 2026 and closes at 4pm on 17 March 2026. Any approved changes will take effect from 1 July 2026.

What we’re consulting on

We're consulting only on fees and charges set under the Resource Management Act 1991.

These fees must be formally consulted on each year.

Normally, fees and charges are consulted on as part of the Annual Plan process. However, as the 2026/27 Annual Plan doesn’t include any significant or material changes beyond what was consulted on in the Long Term Plan 2024-44, we’re doing a targeted consultation for Resource Management Act fees and charges only.

While we’re not consulting on them, you can see the full list of fees and charges below.

Why fees and charges matter

Fees and charges help ensure the cost of Council services is fairly shared between those who use them and the wider community.

Resource Management activities are funded through a mix of user charges and rates. This reflects both:

• the private benefit to applicants
• the wider benefit to the community.

For example, processing a resource consent supports individual development, while also helping to manage environmental effects and uphold community expectations around land use and development.

What changes are proposed for 2026/27?

Council is proposing some changes to planning and consent fees under the Resource Management Act. Most of the Resource Management fees are not increasing.

The goal is to make sure ratepayers are not paying more than their fair share of these costs. Most fees will stay the same. Where fees are increasing, the average rise is 5.7 percent.

Three new fees are also proposed:

• Two optional fees to help fund a fire appliance for growing areas that do not have access to a piped water supply
• One new processing system fee.

View the proposed fees

You can read the full schedule of proposed Resource Management Act fees and charges along with all other Council fees and charges below.

Proposed Resource Management Act Fees & Charges 2026-27

Fees and charges will be formally set alongside adoption of the 2026/27 Annual Plan.

You can view the full schedule below.

Proposed Fees & Charges 2026-27

Privacy Statement

All submissions are publicly available on our website and at Council service centres.

Your personal details, including name and contact details, will be provided in full to Elected Members and made available to the public unless you request that this information be kept private.

We collect your contact information so we can keep you updated about this proposal.

For more information, please see our privacy statement at www.horowhenua.govt.nz/PrivacyStatement