Whanganui building sector buoyant, value of consents rise

Whanganui District Council's building inspectors have noted that the value of building consents has increased this year. Photo / Bevan Conley

The Whanganui building sector has been busy during the first quarter of the year.

Whanganui District Council's interim regulatory and planning group manager Jason Shailer told the property and community services committee meeting on Tuesday the news was a highlight of his report for February 1 to April 30, 2022.

"There has been a lot of buoyancy which has tailed off slightly with the end of the financial year," he said.

Shailer's report noted the value of building consents had been considerably higher, indicating new builds and large renovations/extensions being carried out.

"The current trend sees inspectors inspecting complicated, detailed builds," he said.

There were 215 building consents issued during the three months and 98.8 per cent were processed within 20 days. The council received $411,797 in revenue from the consents.

Shailer said he commended the building control staff for continuing to operate at a high standard while completing work within the statutory timeframe in a period when there had been staff shortages.

Despite a reduction of 12 building consents issued compared to the same period in 2020/21, Shailer said the building sector remained buoyant and confident - even with rising inflation and interest rates.

"There is no indication of a decline within the sector and renovations and new builds are booked well in advance."

In the planning area, 30 consents for subdivisions had been issued and Shailer reported there had been a steady number of applications.

The council's planning policy team was working with development, assessment and infrastructure teams to develop a clearer understanding of infrastructure concerns regarding infill development. Valuable work had been done by the geographic information system (GIS) team to map and count the potentially available infill sites in Whanganui's general residential zone.

There were appeals to plan change 54 which aims to consolidate the city's industrial zones. The report said it was hoped two or three appeals could be mediated while one might go to court.

Councillor Alan Taylor asked about miscellaneous plan changes and whether there were likely to be more of them. The council's principal policy planner Gavin McCullagh told him that would be determined by the amended Resource Management Act (RMA), which is due to come into force on November 30 this year.