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What is a Limited Title?

Some titles have the wording “Limited as to Parcels” appearing underneath the title heading.  This does not mean that the title is defective. It does mean that the area and boundaries of the land are not guaranteed. It was not always a requirement that land had to be surveyed as part of the subdivision process.  Although not common, this practice was still used as late as the 1960’s before legislation made it compulsory that all subdivisions had to be surveyed. Implicat...

Easements explained

Easements come in many shapes and forms. Generally it gives one person the right to use another person’s land for a particular purpose, and are recorded on the properties certificate of title. There are private easements between individuals for services and access, and ‘Easements in Gross’ which are in favour or councils or corporations.A common easement is a ‘Right of Way’ which allows a person to travel across another person’s land to get access to there property. The Right of Way ...

The Mysteries of a Cross-lease explained

What is a Cross-lease?A cross-lease is a form of property ownership arrangement, primarily found in New Zealand. In a cross-lease, multiple parties own a share of the land collectively, and each party has a leasehold interest in a specific portion of the land. Typically, this type of ownership is associated with residential properties.Here’s how it generally works:1.      Land Ownership: The land is owned jointly by all the parties involved in the cross-lease. Each par...

Meet our new Planner

Sam has a total of 15 years experience in the field of planning ranging from processing resource consents, undertaking policy drafting work, infrastructure planning and reserves management planning within local government.  Sam began her career with New Plymouth District Council in 2007 .  In 2018 she worked for Isovist, New Zealand’s leading e-plan provider as a Delivery Manager managing Council’s e-plans across New Zealand and later in 2021 worked for Far North District Council i...

Environmental Benefit Lots (EBL)

Environmental benefit lots are a form of subdivision that allows landowners to create new lots in exchange for protecting and enhancing areas of significant natural value.Today we were undertaking the physical survey of a proposed environmental benefit lot in the Waipa District. The Waikato District Plan provides criteria and standards for environmental benefit lots in rural zones, such as the size, location, and shape of the lots, as well as the type, extent, and quality of the environmental fe...

Celebrating Christmas with a SPLASH

This Christmas, we're swapping the traditional sleigh for a black water tube at Waitomo Caves.  Embarking on a thrilling underground journey, both RPC and Nicklin CE offices explored the magical glowworm-lit caverns to celebrate the end of 2023.Who needs snow when you have the enchanting glow of thousands of tiny lights surrounding you?  From the depths of the caves to the spirit of the season, we're making memories that will last a lifetime.Wishing you all a Merry Christmas filled wit...

Landslide monitoring

Our dedicated survey team is diligently monitoring the houses atop the recently shifted terrain following the landslide. Armed with the precision of a Total Station, we're conducting x, y, z measurements – a crucial aspect of our detailed monitoring surveys.  These precise measurements are not just data points; they are key to assessing the structural integrity of each existing lot above the slip area.Our focus is unwavering as we work to provide residents with accurate insights into any ...

Nicklin CE

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The Landing Business Park

The Landing is a new business park at Auckland Airport catering to logistics, technology and light industrial sectors. It encompasses 175 hectares and is home to some of the world’s largest logistics companies.For the past 8 years RPC has been assisting contractors in providing as-builts of the new drainage assets at this new business park.  An As-Built Plan typically shows the final position and level of new infrastructure assets. They are usually required by Councils to ensure the asset...

The Importance of a Site Survey and Site Plan.

At the start of any subdivision development the initial critical survey is for a site plan of the property. This provides you with all the base information required for the future development.The site plan will pick up the site and boundary ground levels, any existing building locations in relation to the legal boundaries, manholes and above ground services, street furniture including vehicle crossings, kerb, footpath and any power poles, and stormwater cesspits.The plan forms the basis of the s...

House Set Out in the Kaimai Ranges

Rodney recently had the pleasure of setting out a house situated in the lower Kaimai Ranges with gorgeous panoramic views over the Western Bay Area....

MARKING THE JOURNEY & School of Surveying's 60TH ANNIVERSARY

“Marking the Journey” could not have been a better theme for this year’s conference as it was the School of Surveying’s 60th anniversary. The theme also aligned with the republished autobiography of Archie Bogle in the Part I of the three-part book, ‘The Measure of the Man’, allowing us to look back in time to allow us to reflect and appreciate the Journey that has been. “Walking backwards into the future”, a phrase thrown around at the conference, reminding us, that to best prep...

Drone Survey of the Puketormiro Pa Site.

The Puketormiro Pa Site lies in the Kopurererua Valley, Payes Pa, Tauranga.  Tauranga City Council wanted to change the status of Puketormiro Pa Site to an Historic reserve. The first step in this process was to conduct a survey of the site.  The idea was to survey the extent of the features in order to determine boundaries of the proposed historic site.  We used the Phantom 4 RTK drone and flew at 80m.  Apart from having to wait for a few rain showers, everything went s...

RPC Land Surveyors expand to Cambridge

RPC Land Surveyors is excited to announce that we have acquired land survey practice Nicklin CE based in Cambridge. This acquisition marks a significant milestone for us as we continue to grow and expand our vision and reach to the premier consulting firm in Land Development Engineering & Surveying. We believe that by joining forces with Nicklin CE, we will be able to enhance our offerings and provide even greater value to our cherished customers. Nicklin CE is widely recognised in Waikato f...

Golf and Land Surveying

We recently had a round of golf with a few of us in the Mount Maunganui office (taking advantage of daylight saving hours). A beautiful evening at the local Otumoetai Course. At first glance, golf and land surveying may seem quite different from each other, but there are a few ways in which they have some things in common:1.     Precision: Both golf and land surveying require a high degree of precision. In golf, players need to hit the ball accurately to get it into the hole ...

Going the extra mile

RPC’s new field wagon....

Papamoa College Expansion

RPC have been involved with the expansion of Papamoa College. We have been responsible for completing the engineering set-out surveys for gridlines and hold down bolt locations.This is done to ensure that the prefabricated steel columns fit exactly on to the cast in hold down bolts when they arrive on site. This picture shows the concrete pump getting ready to make the first pour for the foundations on the new school block....

Medium Density Residential Standards and proposed Unitary Plan changes

The government's National Policy Statement on Urban Development (NPS-UD) came into force in 18 August 2022 with the notification of Plan Change 78. The NPS-UD directs Auckland Council to enable more building height and housing density within and around Auckland's city centre, metropolitan centres and rapid transit stops such as train and busway stations. The RMA was amended and now requires the councils of New Zealand's largest and rapidly growing cities - Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Wellingto...

Monitoring Surveys – Pre-loading.

As part of the land development process, RPC often work with Geotechnical Engineers to address various geotechnical issues that may be present on a site. An example of this is a monitoring survey RPC are conducting at 52 Wilson Road, Waihi Beach to determine the amount of pre-load settlement. The Preliminary Geotechnical Assessment Report for the site concluded that 270mm to 730mm of settlement could occur as a result of the construction of a proposed commercial building. To address this, the ar...

New Staff

RPC has two new staff – one an ex Air NZ pilot who has prior experience with survey drone operation in Auckland and is familiar with all airspace restrictions when flying. Our second new staff member comes from University of Otago and has worked as a builder before his time at University.The combination of background experience positions from our new staff enables RPC to offer a more comprehensive all-round service to our client’s on building certification and subdivision projects....

1000 words

A picture is still worth a 1000 words. That is what we discovered with our recent survey for the latest commercial industrial unit titles out at The Lakes, Tauranga. A survey with the drone while the tilt slab walls are still exposed greatly speeds up the unit title side of the development such that we are achieving titles at the same time or before the building Code Compliance Certificate has issued meaning sale and purchase agreements can settle when the building is complete....

Covid-19

To All Our Valued Customers. Auckland Office Following the Government announcement to activate Level 3 for Auckland until further notice, we can now return to work in the office if needed. Please note this office will still remain closed to the public for these times, please contact us if you need us....