Groups and individuals doing environmental enhancement projects in Otago will be able to apply for cost assistance for resource consents.
The new policy was requested by Otago regional councillors, following deliberations of submissions to its long-term plan 2021-31, and was signed-off during a full council meeting last week.
It will play an important part in "environmental guardianship" at a national level, council chairman Andrew Noone said.
The council has budgeted $50,000 per year for the first three years of its long-term plan for the consent policy, and funding for each applicant will be capped at $10,000.
Not-for-profit groups or individuals including catchment groups, community groups and trusts, iwi and hapu groups, which meet the specific criteria, will be able to apply for financial support for their consents.
Council staff said the funds would be available on a "first-come, first-serve" basis and applications would not be considered once the annual fund allocation was exhausted.
The budget would be reviewed during future annual or long-term plan processes.
Previously, the council had no policy or criteria on waiving or reducing fees for any type of consent or applicants.
"This means that irrespective of environmental benefit, all applicants must pay their processing fees," staff said.
Regulatory and Communications general manager Richard Saunders said a consent pre-commencement meeting would be held with the applicants where staff could assess and provide advice on whether the group or individual was eligible.
This sort of meetings would also provide a chance for council staff to "iron out" any problems with a consent before it was lodged.
The council intended to have the policy "go live" for applications from July 1, Mr Saunders said.
Cr Noone said the request for the new policy stemmed from "frustrations" about the challenges the Waipahi Wetland project — a project that aims to convert about 9ha of swampy dairy grazing paddock into a permanent wetland — faced when trying to secure a consent, at what would be considered a reasonable cost.
It was important that the council was doing its bit to help community groups achieve environmental projects, on both public and private land.
"It is an important aspect of environmental guardianship on a national level as well," he said.
Cr Kate Wilson said the council received many submissions where a similar situations had occurred.
"Rules can be sledgehammers at times ... this is just a non-regulatory rule that we can even the playing field with."
The policy was approved by councillors unanimously.
