FAQs

LDE stands for Land Development Engineering. The firm was founded in Gisborne in 2004 doing exactly that — the civil and geotechnical engineering that turns a piece of land into something that can be consented, serviced and built on. Land development is still core work: site investigation and stability analysis on steep and compressible ground, earthworks and erosion and sediment control, roading, stormwater, wastewater and water supply design, and the reporting that supports subdivision consent.

The business has grown well past that starting point. LDE now trades as LDE Engineers & Scientists across geotechnical, civil, structural, environmental, coastal, water, hydrogeology, transport, geophysics and project management work, from ten offices between Kerikeri and Whanganui, and is part of the WGA group. Most people simply say LDE.

LDE Engineers & Scientists was founded in 2004 and has been a multi-disciplinary engineering consultancy operating across New Zealand ever since. Over the last two decades we have delivered more than 15,000 projects, grown to 120 staff across 10 offices, and expanded from our Auckland base into Northland, the Bay of Plenty, Tairāwhiti, Hawke’s Bay, and Whanganui.

LDE holds SiteWise Gold accreditation and is certified under CHASNZ Totika, the national pre-qualification scheme for contractor health and safety. Our quality management systems align with ISO 9001 principles, and all field work is governed by site-specific safety plans. Client prequalification packs, insurance certificates, and current accreditation statements are available on request.

LDE’s day-to-day project delivery is concentrated across New Zealand. As part of WGA Group Holdings, we also work alongside WGA in Australia and WGANZ, which share engineering and environmental capability across both markets, so trans-Tasman and wider regional work is delivered by the right team. WGA and LDE have entered into an agreement to be acquired by AtkinsRéalis, subject to shareholder, court and regulatory approvals. For overseas enquiries please use the Contact form and we will put you in touch with the right team.

Yes. Lander Geotechnical is part of LDE Engineers & Scientists, and the geotechnical work it did across Auckland and the upper North Island now runs through our South Auckland office at 320 Ti Rakau Drive, Burswood.

The old landergeotechnical.co.nz address now points here. There is more on what changed, and how to request a copy of a report Lander issued for your site, on the Lander Geotechnical page.

Yes. Explore Geotechnical is part of LDE Engineers & Scientists. The drilling, geophysics and laboratory testing it did from Gisborne and around the country now runs through LDE, with the Tairāwhiti team working out of our Gisborne office on Palmerston Road.

The old exploregeotechnical.co.nz address now points here. There is more on what changed, and how to request a copy of a log or report Explore issued for your site, on the Explore Geotechnical page.

LDE provides a full range of engineering and environmental consultancy services across New Zealand. Our core disciplines are geotechnical, civil, structural, coastal, and environmental engineering, supported by specialist teams in drilling services, engineering geology, geophysics, water services, building and resource consents, and monitoring, surveillance and quality assurance (MSQA). We work across residential, commercial, industrial, community, infrastructure, and rural markets.

Yes. Our geotechnical team regularly completes residential-scale site investigations for prospective property buyers, including desk studies, site inspections, borehole or hand-auger sampling, and foundation-suitability assessments. Reports are written to meet MBIE Building Code requirements and are accepted by territorial authorities for building consent. Turnaround for a typical residential geotechnical report is two to four weeks from site access, depending on testing requirements.

LDE supports clients through both building consent and resource consent processes. Our services cover design certification, PS1/PS4 producer statements, geotechnical completion reports, resource consent applications (subdivision, earthworks, land use), assessment of environmental effects, and ongoing MSQA during construction. We work closely with territorial authorities across the North Island and understand regional plan rules in the areas where we operate.

Yes. Our environmental team carries out Preliminary Site Investigations (PSI) and Detailed Site Investigations (DSI) under the NES-CS (National Environmental Standard for Assessing and Managing Contaminants in Soil), remediation planning and oversight, groundwater monitoring, and air and water quality assessments. We are experienced across former horticultural, industrial, and fuel-storage sites and routinely prepare reporting to support consent conditions.

The fastest way to get a quote is to send an enquiry through the contact form on our Contact page and select the "Project" enquiry type. Include the site address, a brief description of the scope of work, any known constraints, and your target timeframe. A member of the relevant discipline team will respond with a scoped proposal or request a site visit, typically within one to three business days. For urgent work you can also phone your nearest office directly.

Our engineering teams use industry-standard design, modelling, and drafting packages, including Revit, AutoCAD Civil 3D, 12d Model, Plaxis, SpaceGASS, and ETABS, alongside specialist geotechnical and hydraulic tools appropriate to each project. Field work is supported by digital data capture, RTK GPS survey, and CPT/borehole logging software with results typically delivered as GIS-ready layers and BIM-coordinated drawings.

LDE operates ten offices across the North Island of New Zealand: Auckland CBD, South Auckland, Warkworth, Whangārei, Kerikeri, Tauranga, Whakatāne, Gisborne, Napier, and Whanganui. Each office is staffed by local engineers, geologists, and environmental scientists who understand the regional geology, consenting environment, and community context. Our teams regularly work outside their home regions to support larger infrastructure and subdivision projects nationwide.

LDE serves the upper and central North Island from ten offices stretching from Kerikeri in the Far North to Whanganui in the lower North Island. Our regional coverage includes Northland, Auckland, Rodney, Bay of Plenty, Tairāwhiti / East Coast, Hawke’s Bay, and Manawatū-Whanganui. Teams regularly mobilise outside their home region for larger infrastructure, subdivision, and remediation projects, and we have delivered work across the South Island on request.

If you are the original client, a current property owner, or have written authority from one of those parties, you can request a copy of a past LDE report through the Contact page, select "General" as the enquiry type and include the project address, approximate date of the original report, and any LDE job number you have on hand. Records requests are handled by the issuing office and typically turned around within five business days.

For urgent enquiries, for example emergency geotechnical advice after a weather event, a site incident, or an inspection needed at short notice, call our freephone 0800 397 566 during business hours and you will be routed to the nearest office. Outside business hours, phone the direct office line listed on the Offices page or use the Contact form with "urgent" in the subject line; the on-call discipline lead checks enquiries each morning.

All current openings are listed on our Careers page. To apply, use the Contact form, select "Career" as the enquiry type, attach your CV and a short cover letter, and note the role you are interested in. We also welcome expressions of interest from experienced engineers, scientists, and graduates even when a specific role is not advertised, we will hold your CV on file and contact you when a suitable position opens.

Yes. LDE runs an annual summer internship programme for engineering and earth-science undergraduates and hires graduates into our geotechnical, civil, structural, and environmental teams each year. Graduate positions are advertised on our Careers page between May and August for a February start. Internships are advertised between August and October. Applications include a CV, academic transcript, and a short cover letter describing your area of interest.