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I'm told that digging soak-holes and filling them with stones and other things to effect drainage, under the Resource Management Act is now illegal.

Huh? [Linked Image]

Aren't we talking about water which fell out of the sky and would soak into the ground anyway? If it doesn't go into the sewer, or a soakaway, then what exactly are you supposed to do with it? There are millions of such soakaways here for draining rainwater.

People will just ignore rules when they start to be totally illogical or overly burdensome. Before Part P came along in England there were already parts of the building regulations which required notification for certain works on plumbing which were, and still are, widely ignored. Part P electrical has just joined the list of rules which are there to be broken.