Experienced Planning Consultancy Services in Auckland

Blakey Planning Limited is an Auckland-based planning consultancy, established by Richard Blakey in 2014. 

Richard has been involved in planning practice since 1991, and as a planning consultant in a private capacity since 2000. He holds the qualification of Bachelor of Planning from the University of Auckland (1990) and has been a full member of the New Zealand Planning Institute since 1995. 

Richard was certified with merit in the Ministry for the Environment’s “Making Good Decisions” programme in 2008, with Chairing Endorsement in 2016 (renewed in 2021). He is a member of the Auckland Council’s Panel of Independent Hearing Commissioners (since June 2014) and Duty Commissioners (since June 2015), and frequently chairs hearings on resource consents and plan change matters for the Council, and for the Queenstown Lakes District Council since mid-2023 and is also a member of a number of other Council commissioner panels.

Richard is also a chairperson/member of Auckland Council’s Urban Design Panel (for the 2024-27 term) and was a member for the previous 2021-23 term. He has also been appointed to several expert consenting panels by the Environmental Protection Authority in respect of the Fast-track Consenting Act 2020. 

Richard also continues to provide planning consultancy services to private sector clients in respect of development projects of a variety of scales, primarily within the Auckland region. These include resource consents (such as residential and commercial developments and coastal activities), advice on planning applications and due diligence (including pre-purchase planning assessment and feasibility studies).