New build surge in Taupo
Taupo builders are being run off their feet with more than $150 million worth of new buildings approved last year.
Taupo District Council issued 304 new dwelling consents in 2016 [worth $157.8 million], making it the highest number issued since 2006 and three times the number issued in 2012.
Building consents for existing dwellings also rose, with 1155 building consents approved, up from 970 in 2015.
Consents and regulatory manager Scott Devonport said staff have introduced new technology to assist in completing the growing number of assessments on time.
‘‘We carried out 6325 building inspections last year, over a thousand more than in 2015,’’ he said. ‘‘
The recently introduced GoBuild app’ is helping reduce inspection bookings by allowing owners, builders and subcontractors to book inspections at any time without needing to contact council directly during office hours.’’
Along with the sharp increase in applications, Devonport said a jump in applications in growing areas such as Kinloch mean staff have to travel a lot more than in the past to make site visits.
‘‘To combat this we’ve worked to plan and map out assessments so our inspectors don’t travel unnecessarily around the district,’’ he said.
‘‘This is helping us to complete more inspections at a faster rate, all while making cost savings for ratepayers.’’
Devonport said while the past year was a busy one, with a high number of applications processed, staff have continued to process 100 per cent of building consent applications within the legislative timeframe of 20 working days.
‘‘We want to ensure building consents aren’t halting the building process and have worked to complete applications in an average of six days.
‘‘This means people are thinking about getting into their new homes faster, not worrying about long consent processing times.’’
Mayor David Trewavas said the increase in new building consents was a good indication Taupo is becoming more than just a tourist destination.
‘‘The numbers are going up all the time now,’’ he said.
‘‘We’ve got the spread of businesses to ensure people are thinking of Taupo as a place to live and not just visit.’’