Great advice by Xav. The only problem might be that the council planners don't know as much about the law as Xav does.
Easements usually involve a "dominant tenement" and a "servient tenement". The dominant tenement is the land that gets the benefit of the easement, while the servient tenement is the land that suffers the burden of the easement. If the easement is a 'right of way', then the dominant tenement is the site that gets the benefit of the right of way, while the servient tenement is the land over which the right of way runs.
To the best of my knowledge, and which is Xav's point, the dominant tenement is that which existed at the time of the creation of the right of way. In other words, a subsequent subdivision of the dominant tenement does not change the situation. Both of the new sites resulting from the subdivision are entitled to use the right of way.
So your new site has "legal access", in my opinion. Most district plans have rules on the number of sites that can share an access strip, but as long as you are within those rules, you should be able to apply on a "non-notified" basis. In that event, you do not need the neighbour's consent.
In this situation, I would suggest engaging a specialist planning lawyer, rather than a surveyor.
Easements usually involve a "dominant tenement" and a "servient tenement". The dominant tenement is the land that gets the benefit of the easement, while the servient tenement is the land that suffers the burden of the easement. If the easement is a 'right of way', then the dominant tenement is the site that gets the benefit of the right of way, while the servient tenement is the land over which the right of way runs.
To the best of my knowledge, and which is Xav's point, the dominant tenement is that which existed at the time of the creation of the right of way. In other words, a subsequent subdivision of the dominant tenement does not change the situation. Both of the new sites resulting from the subdivision are entitled to use the right of way.
So your new site has "legal access", in my opinion. Most district plans have rules on the number of sites that can share an access strip, but as long as you are within those rules, you should be able to apply on a "non-notified" basis. In that event, you do not need the neighbour's consent.
In this situation, I would suggest engaging a specialist planning lawyer, rather than a surveyor.
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