When Holly and her husband Shawn set out to open a new dedicated pickleball gym in Tauriko, near Tauranga they thought they had found the perfect space - a warehouse they could lease which already had resource consent to be used as a health and fitness facility.
What they didn’t anticipate was the planning hurdle that came with it.
While the site already had resource consent in place, pickleball was deemed to be a different activity and the proposed change of use required a variation. Holly and Shawn initially prepared and lodged the application themselves, assuming it would be relatively straightforward given the similarities between the activities. When the application was rejected as incomplete, they came to CKL for advice.
Rather than taking over the application end-to-end, CKL worked alongside the clients, providing targeted planning guidance and helping them understand what was required to make the application complete. This included advice on the necessary assessments and how to address key planning considerations to strengthen their proposal.
This collaborative approach allowed Holly and Shawn to stay closely involved in the process, manage costs carefully, and still achieve a successful outcome.
The result: resource consent granted - and a new pickleball facility ready to move toward its grand opening in April.
It’s a good example of how flexible, practical planning advice can make a real difference for small business owners navigating the consenting process. Helping clients succeed doesn’t always mean doing everything for them, sometimes it means giving them the right advice at the right time.
