Selwyn District Council are urging patience as record consent numbers continue.
Construction site. Photo: 123rf.com
The volume and complexity of building consent mean that the Council is taking longer than usual to process applications.
Building consent applications have continued to rapidly increase with 235 consents issued and 1775 inspections completed in November. Following the latest consent numbers, the Council is on track for a record year of up to 2800 building consents and 19,000 inspections.
Applications for LIM reports have also hit record levels, increasing 20 percent compared to last year.
Council Building Manager Vanessa Mitchell said people should plan ahead and allow extra time for Land Information Memorandums (LIM) and building consents, including Code of Compliance Certificates-particularly at this time of year when the Council typically experiences high demand for building consents.
"We are experiencing a 20 percent increase on building consents over what we have received in the past - even over and above what we had during the height of the earthquake rebuild. The majority of these applications are for new homes which is also a change from previous months."
Mitchell said finding suitably qualified and experienced people with the relevant skills and knowledge on building control functions has also been difficult with a shortage of experienced people right across the country.
To address the increasing workload, the Council has hired additional staff in recent months and had extra processing and inspecting help from Christchurch City Council, Waimakariri District Council, Napier City Council and contractors.