Kia ora Rob

We have received your official information request
We received your request on 7/5/2026 relating to compliance, monitoring, and enforcement training and practices at PNCC.

We will do our best to respond to your request as soon as possible and no later than 5/6/2026. If we aren’t able to respond to your request within this 20 working day period, we will let you know.
 
We are working on your request
We are currently gathering any information we hold that relates to your request. If we need to clarify anything, we'll get in touch with you.
 
On some occasions we need to charge for the cost of labour and materials involved in making information available, or for making information available urgently. If a charge is required, we will let you know before your request is processed.
 
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us by emailing [Palmerston North City Council request email]. Your reference number is LGOIMA SRC0430466
 
Ngā mihi

Merle Lavin
Governance Support Officer

Official Information Team
Legal Services

Palmerston North City Council
Te Marae o Hine − 32 The Square
Private Bag 11034, Palmerston North 4442

06 356 8199
pncc.govt.nz

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Kia ora Rob
I refer to your request received on 7 May 2026 for information relating to
compliance, monitoring, and enforcement training and practices at PNCC.
We have decided to grant your request and we are currently preparing the
information for release. We expect to send the information to you by 12
June 2026.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of
this decision. Information about how to make a complaint is available at
[1]www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602.
Ngā mihi

Philippa Lee
Legal Officer - Corporate Services

 

Official Information Team
Legal Services

Palmerston North City Council
[2][IMG] Te Marae o Hine − 32 The Square
Private Bag 11034, Palmerston North 4442

06 356 8199
[3]pncc.govt.nz

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From: LGOIMA Requests <[email address]>
Sent: Thursday, 7 May 2026 11:22 am
To: [FOI #34631 email]
<[FOI #34631 email]>
Subject: LGOIMA SRC0430466 FW: Official Information request - Requests
related to Compliance, Monitoring, and Enforcment training and in practice
 
Kia ora Rob
 
We have received your official information request 
We received your request on 7/5/2026 relating to compliance, monitoring,
and enforcement training and practices at PNCC.
 
We will do our best to respond to your request as soon as possible and no
later than 5/6/2026. If we aren’t able to respond to your request within
this 20 working day period, we will let you know. 
  
We are working on your request 
We are currently gathering any information we hold that relates to your
request. If we need to clarify anything, we'll get in touch with you.  
  
On some occasions we need to charge for the cost of labour and materials
involved in making information available, or for making information
available urgently. If a charge is required, we will let you know before
your request is processed.   
  
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us by emailing
[Palmerston North City Council request email]. Your reference number is LGOIMA SRC0430466   
  
Ngā mihi
 
Merle Lavin
Governance Support Officer

Official Information Team
Legal Services

Palmerston North City Council
Te Marae o Hine − 32 The Square
Private Bag 11034, Palmerston North 4442

06 356 8199
pncc.govt.nz
 

show quoted sections

Kia ora Rob
I refer to your official information request received on 7 May 2026 for
information relating to compliance, monitoring, and enforcement training
and practices at Council.
Our response
Q1. Any documents / web site links PNCC has describing the process around
making complaints about RMA consent issues to PNCC.
Council does not have a formally documented complaints process specific to
its Resource Management Act (RMA) consenting functions. Complaints of this
nature are managed through Council’s standard channels for reporting
concerns about the work, services, or decisions of staff. An [1]online
complaints form is available and contact details for members of the
[2]Senior Leadership Team are published on Council’s website.
Information regarding complaints about alleged breaches of resource
consent conditions, including Council’s monitoring approach, is publicly
available on Council’s website: [3]Resource consent conditions |
Palmerston North City Council
A draft complaints process map is attached for reference, however this has
not been finalised or operationalised and remains in draft form. 
Further general information about resolving RMA-related concerns is also
available on the Ministry for the Environment website: [4]Resolving RMA
concerns | Ministry for the Environment
Q2. Any documents PNCC has demonstrating staff training in the past 5
years in regards to "Basic Investigative Skills for Local
Government" referenced on MFE "Compliance, monitoring, and enforcement by
local authorities" web page. Specifically the content of the CME Guidebook
located here: [you provided a link to a Waikato Regional Council
publication titled 'The CME Guidebook').
Council's Monitoring and Compliance Officer notes the following relevant
training to support their functions and maintain capability within their
areas of expertise:

* 12/5/23 - Compliance training delivered by law firm on notebook
entries, file keeping, collection of evidence, chain of custody,
exercising statutory powers RMA & BA, running an investigation,
enforcement decision-making, recent trends in compliance, monitoring
and enforcement
* 13/9/24 – Legal (case law review) seminar by law firm 
* 13/5/25 – Virtual seminar on Environmental Enforcement delivered by
law firm
* 23/7/25 – Regulatory Stewardship Workshop delivered by internal staff
* 4/11/25 - Consent Notice training seminar (in-person) delivered by law
firm
* 26/1//25 - Situational Safety Workshop 
* 5/5/26 – Virtual seminar on Environmental Enforcement delivered by law
firm
* 8/5/2026 - Situational Safety Workshop

Training is undertaken by staff across compliance monitoring, legal, and
planning functions - we have noted the most relevant role in our response
only. We have not provided the actual attendance certificates as this
would provide records of an individual staff member's training. The
Outlook calendar meeting can be provided where available. 
The set of requests in this section relate to Section 25: Monitoring of
the operative PNCC District Plan. 
Q3. Any documents PNCC has in regards to guidelines, standard operating
procedures (SOP), or similar in regards to: Timely response and
investigation into complaints received by the Council.
Council does not hold any guidelines, standard operating procedures, or
similar documents relating specifically to the timely investigation and
response to complaints about resource consent conditions. Monitoring and
investigations are instead guided by Section 25 of the District Plan,
along with Ministry for the Environment and other relevant industry
guidance and resources.
Council does not have formal internal performance indicators for response
timeframes. However, officers aim to acknowledge and make an initial
response to complaints within two working days. Following this initial
assessment, timeframes for resolution will vary depending on the nature
and complexity of the complaint, including whether external testing or
specialist assessments are required, and the responsiveness of the parties
involved.
Q4. Any documents PNCC has in regards to records of complaints made from 1
November 2025 to present about any RMA consent requirement issues at the
subdivisions at 164 and 158 Turitea Road, 2 Te Pirangi Way, and 4 Te
Pirangi Way.
The information requested is attached. Please note that we have not
included information requests made to Council about these properties where
the request did not include any complaint.
Q5. Any documents PNCC has in regards to records of complaints made
in person on 13 February 2026 about any RMA consent requirement issues at
the subdivisions at 164 and 158 Turitea Road, 2 Te Pirangi Way, and 4 Te
Pirangi Way.
The information requested is attached. 
Decision to withhold some information - Privacy
We have withheld the names of individuals in accordance with section
7(2)(a) of the LGOIMA. Section 7(2)(a) of the LGOIMA provides that there
is a good reason for withholding official information when the withholding
of information is necessary to protect the privacy of natural persons. The
release of this information would disclose the names of individuals who
were spoken to as part of our investigation into a consenting breach. We
have considered the public interest in releasing the information, however
we also considered the privacy of individuals and the effect it may have
on them if their information were to be released, and we have decided that
these factors outweigh the public interest in this instance.
Q6. Any documents PNCC has from 1 November 2025 to present regarding the
assessment of consent holder compliance with the condition of land use and
subdivision resource consents for the subdivisions at 164 and 158 Turitea
Road, 2 Te Pirangi Way, and 4 Te Pirangi Way.
The information requested is attached as Q6 response. We note that there
is an assessment detailed on the abatement notice which is attached in
Q7. 
There hasn't been specific Land Use consent monitoring required however
Council has monitored in as part of compliance responses. Complaints
received have been assessed by way of site meetings and visits, provision
of documents and information gathering to inform our assessment of the
consent conditions. The assessment is included in the abatement notice
referred to above. Council has not received a section 223/224 application,
this involves the checking of the subdivision/land use consent
conditions. 
Decision to withhold some information - Privacy
We have withheld the mobile phone number of an employee in accordance with
section 7(2)(a) of the LGOIMA. The release of the mobile phone number
would disclose information about an individual that is not publicly
available. We have considered the public interest in releasing the
information, however we also considered the privacy of individuals and the
effect it may have on them if their information were to be released, and
we have decided that these factors outweigh the public interest in this
instance.
Q7. Any documents PNCC has in regards to enforcement or prosecution
actions from 1 November 2025 to present about any RMA consent requirement
issues at the subdivisions at 164 and 158 Turitea Road, 2 Te Pirangi Way,
and 4 Te Pirangi Way.
An abetment notice was issued in relation to breaches of the Standard for
Construction Noise on 16 February 2026 in relation to the site at 2 Te
Pirangi Way. A copy of the abatement notice is attached as Q7 response.
Decision to withhold some information - Privacy
We have withheld the name and address of an individual in accordance with
section 7(2)(a) of the LGOIMA. Section 7(2)(a) of the LGOIMA provides that
there is a good reason for withholding official information when the
withholding of information is necessary to protect the privacy of natural
persons. The release of this information would disclose information about
an individual including their residential address. We have considered the
public interest in releasing the information, however we also considered
the privacy of individuals and the effect it may have on them if their
information were to be released, and we have decided that these factors
outweigh the public interest in this instance.
We have withheld the signature of an employee who issued the notice in
accordance with section 7(2)(a) of the LGOIMA. The release of the
signature would disclose information about an individual that is not
publicly available. We have considered the public interest in releasing
the information, however we also considered the privacy of individuals and
the effect it may have on them if their information were to be released,
and we have decided that these factors outweigh the public interest in
this instance.
Q8. Any documents PNCC has from 2019 to present in regards to annual
resource consent compliance, monitoring, and enforcement reports.
This information is publicly available on the Ministry for Environment
website through the National Monitoring System, MfE collect
information from councils annually and it is published here: [5]National
Monitoring System | Ministry for the Environment
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of
this decision. Information about how to make a complaint is available at
[6]www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602.

Ngā mihi

Philippa Lee
Legal Officer - Corporate Services

 

Official Information Team
Legal Services

Palmerston North City Council
[7][IMG] Te Marae o Hine − 32 The Square
Private Bag 11034, Palmerston North 4442

06 356 8199
[8]pncc.govt.nz

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: LGOIMA Requests <[email address]>
Sent: Friday, 5 June 2026 5:22 pm
To: [FOI #34631 email] <[FOI #34631 email]>
Subject: Re: LGOIMA SRC0430466 FW: Official Information request - Requests
related to Compliance, Monitoring, and Enforcment training and in practice
 
Kia ora Rob
I refer to your request received on 7 May 2026 for information relating to
compliance, monitoring, and enforcement training and practices at PNCC.
We have decided to grant your request and we are currently preparing the
information for release. We expect to send the information to you by 12
June 2026.
You have the right to seek an investigation and review by the Ombudsman of
this decision. Information about how to make a complaint is available at
[9]www.ombudsman.parliament.nz or freephone 0800 802 602.
Ngā mihi

Philippa Lee
Legal Officer - Corporate Services

 

Official Information Team
Legal Services

Palmerston North City Council
[10][IMG] Te Marae o Hine − 32 The Square
Private Bag 11034, Palmerston North 4442

06 356 8199
[11]pncc.govt.nz

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: LGOIMA Requests <[email address]>
Sent: Thursday, 7 May 2026 11:22 am
To: [FOI #34631 email]
<[FOI #34631 email]>
Subject: LGOIMA SRC0430466 FW: Official Information request - Requests
related to Compliance, Monitoring, and Enforcment training and in practice
 
Kia ora Rob
 
We have received your official information request 
We received your request on 7/5/2026 relating to compliance, monitoring,
and enforcement training and practices at PNCC.
 
We will do our best to respond to your request as soon as possible and no
later than 5/6/2026. If we aren’t able to respond to your request within
this 20 working day period, we will let you know. 
  
We are working on your request 
We are currently gathering any information we hold that relates to your
request. If we need to clarify anything, we'll get in touch with you.  
  
On some occasions we need to charge for the cost of labour and materials
involved in making information available, or for making information
available urgently. If a charge is required, we will let you know before
your request is processed.   
  
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us by emailing
[Palmerston North City Council request email]. Your reference number is LGOIMA SRC0430466   
  
Ngā mihi
 
Merle Lavin
Governance Support Officer

Official Information Team
Legal Services

Palmerston North City Council
Te Marae o Hine − 32 The Square
Private Bag 11034, Palmerston North 4442

06 356 8199
pncc.govt.nz
 

show quoted sections