“If you are a homeowner or builder/designer that has potentially been affected, the council would be grateful for your patience and understanding, as we work through this as quickly and thoroughly as possible.”
Council chief executive Julie Gardyne said the council was working with other councils and acknowledged the support of Engineering New Zealand.
“We also recognise the concern this will cause in parts of the community,” Gardyne said.
“We have a special project team working as quickly as possible to confirm which buildings are affected and what actions are needed going forward and we will be in direct contact with affected property owners as we work through this process.”
Engineering New Zealand chief executive Dr Richard Templer said they were aware one of its members, who is not a chartered professional engineer, had allegedly been completing and signing documents using the identities of various chartered professional engineers, without their permission.
“We understand these concerns relate to designs in the central North Island, Bay of Plenty and Waikato, but may not be limited to designs in these regions,” Templer said.
“‘Chartered professional engineer’ is a protected title and quality mark reserved for engineers who have committed to and been assessed for a given level of competence.”
Engineering New Zealand has referred the matter to the police and relevant authorities and was working with affected councils to provide certainty to owners with impacted designs.
