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What is The Surveying Company?

The Surveying Company is a New Zealand land consultancy based in Pukekohe, south of Auckland. It brings planners, surveyors and civil engineers under one roof, so a project can move from initial feasibility through consenting to construction without the client coordinating several separate firms. Its stated brand promise is "we turn vision into reality" — the practical version of that is helping landowners and developers take a property idea through subdivision or development.

The Surveying Company

What they actually do

• Planning — resource consent work, including the planning assessments that support a subdivision or land-use application.
• Surveying — boundary surveys and subdivision surveys, in both urban and remote rural settings.
• Civil engineering — the engineering design side of land development, such as servicing and earthworks-related work.

Who tends to use a firm like this

A typical client is a property owner with a large section or a lifestyle block wondering whether they can subdivide, or a developer taking a site through consent to build. Because the three disciplines sit together, the same team can answer "is this feasible?", "where are the boundaries?", and "what does the engineering look like?" — which usually saves time and reduces the risk of one consultant's assumptions not matching another's.

Practical next step

If you are at the "could I subdivide?" stage, the cheapest first move is a feasibility conversation rather than commissioning a full survey. The company offers a free subdivision guide and takes enquiries by phone and email; a short call about your address and what you want to achieve will tell you whether a boundary survey, a planner's opinion, or both are worth paying for.

How do I start the subdivision process for my property?

Start by confirming what your property can actually support, then bring in a licensed surveyor or planner before you spend money on designs or builders. In New Zealand, subdivision usually involves a resource consent, a scheme plan, and conditions you must satisfy before new titles are issued. The Surveying Company is one firm that handles planning, surveying and civil engineering for subdivisions, which matters because those three disciplines often need to talk to each other.

H3 Practical first steps

1. Gather your property information. Find your certificate of title, LIM report, and any district plan rules for your zone. Check the minimum lot size, frontage, and services requirements.
2. Get a feasibility opinion. A surveyor or planner can tell you how many lots are realistic and what infrastructure (driveway, stormwater, wastewater, power) will be needed.
3. Talk to the council early. A pre-application meeting clarifies what the consent authority will expect and can save months of rework.
4. Commission a scheme plan. This shows the proposed boundaries, new lots, access and servicing. It is the core document in most subdivision consents.
5. Apply for resource consent. If approved, you will typically have conditions to meet, such as engineering approvals, easements, and sometimes development contributions.
6. Complete the physical works and surveys. This can include earthworks, pipes, and a final survey to confirm boundaries.
7. Apply for new titles. Once conditions are signed off, the survey plan is deposited and titles can be issued.

H3 Who does what

H3 A concrete scenario

Imagine you own a 1,200 m² section in a town where the district plan allows 400 m² minimum lots. On paper, three lots might fit. But if the existing house sits in the middle, the driveway is narrow, and stormwater has nowhere to go, the real number could be two, or one plus a boundary adjustment. That gap between paper density and buildable lots is exactly what a feasibility study resolves before you commit.

H3 Trade-offs to weigh

• More lots can improve return but increase engineering cost and consent complexity.
• Doing it yourself may save fees but risks declined consents and expensive redesigns.
• Phasing can spread cost and risk, but council conditions may not allow it.
• Cross-lease vs freehold changes cost and legal complexity; freehold subdivision is usually simpler to sell.

H3 Useful next step

Ask a surveyor for a written feasibility assessment that covers achievable lot count, likely consent path, and an indicative cost range. If you are in the Auckland or Pukekohe area, The Surveying Company offers a free subdivision guide and lists planning, surveying and civil engineering under one roof, which can reduce coordination headaches. For official rules, check your local council website and Land Information New Zealand for title and survey information.

What does a land surveyor do during a boundary survey?

A boundary survey establishes exactly where a property's legal limits sit on the ground, and the surveyor's job is to reconcile the written record with physical reality. On a typical job, the surveyor:

• Researches the records. Pulls the title, deposited plan, and any historic survey plans to find the original boundary definition, dimensions, and bearings.
• Finds and verifies existing marks. Locates old peg, pipe, or iron markers and checks whether they match the record; missing or disturbed marks are the most common complication.
• Measures on site. Runs the boundary lines and corners with survey instruments, often tying into a coordinate system or nearby geodetic marks.
• Reinstates boundaries. Places new pegs or marks where the legal boundary runs, based on the evidence rather than simply where a fence stands.
• Documents the result. Produces a plan or report showing the boundaries, any encroachments, and where marks were placed.

The practical outcome for a homeowner is certainty: you learn whether the fence, driveway, or shed actually sits inside your title, and you get marks you can point to in a dispute. The trade-off is that a full boundary survey takes more field and office time than a simple location plan, and cost rises with the number of corners, the age of the records, and how much searching is needed.

New Zealand firms handling subdivisions and boundary work alongside planning and civil engineering include The Surveying Company, which covers urban and rural surveying, resource consents, and subdivisions from its Pukekohe base.

Next step: before commissioning anything, ask whether you need a boundary reinstatement (marks placed on the ground) or a boundary definition report (a plan showing where the boundary lies). If you are fencing, building, or resolving a neighbour disagreement, you want the first.

Do I need a resource consent for my project?

You may need a resource consent depending on what you're building or changing, and where. The Surveying Company's site lists planning, surveying and civil engineering among its services, and mentions resource consents, subdivisions and boundary surveys — so this is the kind of firm you'd approach when you're unsure whether consent is required.

When consent is usually needed

• Subdividing land — splitting one title into two or more generally requires a subdivision consent.
• Land use that exceeds district plan rules — e.g. building closer to a boundary than the permitted yard, exceeding height or coverage limits, or running a business from a residential site.
• Earthworks, vegetation clearance or work near waterways — these often trigger regional council rules as well as district rules.
• Changing how a site is used — a new activity may need consent even if no building work happens.

When you may not need one

If your project fits within the permitted activity rules of the relevant district or regional plan, you can usually proceed without a resource consent — though you may still need a building consent, and in some cases both are required. The only reliable way to know is to check the rules against your specific site and proposal.

Practical next step

Before you commit to a design, confirm the planning status of your site. A planner or surveyor can review the district plan rules, check any designations or overlays on the property, and tell you whether you need a consent, a permitted-activity assessment, or nothing at all. If you're in the Auckland region or surrounding areas, The Surveying Company is one option for that assessment; councils also publish their own planning maps and duty-planner enquiry lines, which are free and a sensible first check.

A useful rule of thumb: if you're unsure, ask before you build. Applying for consent retrospectively is slower, more expensive and sometimes refused.

What areas in New Zealand does The Surveying Company service?

The Surveying Company lists an “Areas We Service” section in its site navigation, but the homepage excerpt provided does not name specific regions or towns. The only location detail shown is its office at 17 Hall St, Pukekohe 2120, with phone 09 238 9991 and a freephone number, 0800 86 78 78.

Based on the services described — urban subdivisions and remote rural surveying — the practice appears set up for projects beyond its immediate base, so the practical next step is to confirm coverage for your specific property before engaging anyone.

How to check coverage for your project

• Ask directly using the address. Call 0800 86 78 78 or email [email protected] with your property’s location. A firm with rural capability will usually tell you quickly whether it travels to your area.
• Match the service to your location. Planning, surveying and civil engineering are all offered, but rural boundary work and remote surveys can involve different travel and site-access considerations than an urban subdivision.
• Use the free subdivision guide as a starting point. If you are considering subdivision, the site offers a free guide, which can help you frame questions about feasibility, consents and survey requirements in your area.

For context on the wider market, the official bodies New Zealand Institute of Surveyors and Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand explain surveying standards and boundary records.

How much does a subdivision or land survey cost?

The Surveying Company does not publish fixed prices for subdivisions or land surveys. Its site presents the work as a combined planning, surveying and civil engineering service, and offers a free subdivision guide rather than a rate card. So the honest answer: cost depends on your property and what consents are needed, and you need a site-specific quote.

For a realistic budget, expect the fee to reflect:

• Site complexity — flat urban sections are cheaper to survey than steep, bush-clad or remote rural land.
• Scope of the survey — a boundary identification is narrower work than a full subdivision scheme plan.
• Planning consents — resource consent requirements, and whether a planner must prepare an assessment, add cost beyond the survey itself.
• Engineering input — earthworks, drainage and vehicle access design can be required before a subdivision is approved.
• Council fees and development contributions — these are separate from the consultant's fee and vary by council.

A practical next step is to ask for a written fee proposal broken into stages: initial survey and constraints check, scheme plan, consent lodgement support, and construction/engineering. That way you can stop or pause if the numbers stop making sense.

If you are in the Franklin or wider Auckland area, The Surveying Company covers planning, surveying and civil engineering in one place, which can reduce coordination costs on a subdivision. It also links to a free subdivision guide and a "7 steps to subdivision" page — useful for understanding where the money goes before you commit.