Company:  Selwyn District Council

Location: Selwyn, New Zealand

Team: Combination of internal planners and external consultant

Focus Area: Resource consent processing and decision-makin

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The Challenge: Reducing Time, Improving Accuracy, and Supporting a Growing Tea

Selwyn District Council’s planning team wanted to improve the consistency and accuracy of consent assessments across a growing, mixed-experience workforce. Their previous workflow - based on Word templates, checklists, and manual document formatting - required significant planner time and left gaps in documentation.
 

“We wanted to save planner hours, improve accuracy, and lift consistency across a large team,” Emma (Consents Manager) said.

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“We can now readily ensure that planning checksheets are completed with a level of detail commensurate with the applications,” Richard (Team Leader) noted.

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“A software platform specifically designed for consent processing is badly needed given the specialised and at times complex nature of the work. Upon arriving in the planning industry I was surprised to find a heavy reliance on Microsoft Office products to get the job done. Many industries today seem to be moving toward specialised software / tools,” Andrew (Graduate Planner) said.
 

 

Why Rico: Purpose-Built for Planners

Rico stood out to the Selwyn team for its automation, structured workflow, and potential to grow over time. It replaced manual, error-prone processes with a clear, auditable path through each assessment.

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“It does what we used to do manually—only faster and more accurately,” Emma said.
“And we liked that it could evolve—especially with features like AI,” she added.

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“The structured workflow makes planners consciously consider each step. That helps ensure key matters aren’t missed,” Richard explained.

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“Compared to Word, I liked the idea of getting more done with fewer keystrokes—with less copying and pasting,” Andrew said.

Addressing Initial Concerns: Training, Understanding, and Confidence

A key concern for the team was ensuring planners still understood why they were writing something—not just ticking boxes.

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“Our main concern was making sure people understand the work they’re doing, rather than just assuming the system’s right,” Emma said.

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“With any tool like this, you need to make sure people understand the planning framework, not just how to use the software,” Richard added.

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There was also initial uncertainty about how the workflow would feel in practice.

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“I was initially unsure about how fluid workflow would be in Rico, but it turned out to be intuitive - it quickly became comfortable to use,” Andrew said.

The Transformation: From Uncertainty to Confidence

With Rico, the team gained not only a more consistent output but also more confidence in the integrity of assessments. Rico prompted full coverage of planning provisions and removed guesswork from determining what was (or wasn’t) assessed.

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“Rico makes it easy to document compliance against the entire plan, so we know nothing’s been missed,” Emma said.

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“Planners are prompted to confirm whether provisions apply so it's clear to the decision maker that they have been considered and not overlooked,” Richard explained.

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“For me, it’s the confidence of having the full checksheet visible throughout the process. It helps massively when applications evolve during processing,” Andrew said.

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Planners also appreciated no longer wrestling with Word formatting issues.

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“We don’t have to worry about why Word restarted the numbering or messed up a table,” Emma added.

Improved Quality and Communication

Rico’s structured approach improved not just the quality of the reports, but also communication across the team—particularly during peer review and decision-making.

 

“There’s an observable lift in the quality and consistency of background assessments. It gives me more confidence when reviewing reports,” Richard said.

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“The old Word reports were a bit of a text tsunami. Rico breaks things down into manageable parts—it’s easier to focus and navigate,” Andrew said.

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“Rico can incorporate clear advice notes from report templates, ensuring that planners receive relevant prompts and instructions to consider, with no risk of those notes being embodied within a final document,” Richard added.

Learning Curve: A Shift That Pays Off

While some experienced planners found the shift a little challenging, the transition smoothed out quickly.

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“It was a big shift in how we work, but most of the team felt confident after three to five projects,” Richard said.

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“For me, learning Rico was easy. The interface made sense after a few applications,” Andrew said.

Saving Time—And Mental Energy

Although the team hasn’t formally tracked time savings yet, the sense is clear: Rico saves time, especially on simple projects, and reduces mental strain.

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“No one wants to go back to the old way,” Emma said.

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“Even when time is similar, you’re doing more thorough work—which is a better outcome,” Richard said.

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“The real benefit is how it clears mental clutter. It gives you confidence that you’ve caught everything,” Andrew explained.

Ideas for the Future

Selwyn is already thinking ahead—suggesting new ways Rico could support their broader planning workflows.

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“It’d be great to import standard conditions and advice notes directly into Rico,” Richard suggested.

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“There’s potential for our development engineers to use Rico too, which would bring everything into one place,” he added.

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“It’d be helpful if Rico could suggest relevant objectives and policies when a rule is triggered,” Andrew said.

Cost Recovery and Value

Selwyn passes on Rico’s cost as a fee per application—and finds that both cost recovery and communication with applicants are straightforward.

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“It works well. We save time which reduces our overall revenue so we recover the cost of the tool saving us that time,” Emma said.

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“We apply a per-consent fee. We have had limited queries about this. In such cases, we have relayed a message about overall time-savings, consistency and accuracy delivered by Rico and this has satisfied all queries so far,” she added.

Would They Recommend Rico? A Resounding Yes

“Yes, we’ve recommended Rico to other councils and consultants. It’s improved the accuracy and consistency of our planning assessments,” Emma said.

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“I’ve had a number of councils and consultants reach out. Councils tend to like the consistency, while consultants tend to like the speed but also see benefit in comprehensive planning checksheets reducing RFIs,” Richard said.

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“The ability to track and adapt during a live application, particularly for those “have I updated that to reflect the latest information” moments, gives me peace of mind. Less mental load equals better decisions,” Andrew said.