It remains very busy out there, and going on seasonal trends it will remain busy for the next six months. So make sure you are organised, get your application in early and don’t forget to book your inspections.

You are welcome to contact us if you have concerns with your project or want to discuss ways that we can work better together.

We are very proud to say we nailed it.

Our Council has retained our accreditation as a Building Consent Authority (BCA) after our biennial reassessment in March, enabling us to continue carrying out building control functions.

We received an outstanding result from International Accreditation Body of New Zealand (IANZ), receiving only one minor non-compliance that was easily resolved on site. This is a fantastic result for the team and the district and confirmation we are doing things right.

These results are significant with IANZ congratulating our Council on our excellent performance, and mentioning we were one of the highest-performing councils in the country to date and that we are a low-risk BCA.

Our next BCA assessment is not until March 2024. A big thank you to all our customers for your continued support and feedback – we do appreciate it.

We are very proud to say we nailed it.

Our Council has retained our accreditation as a Building Consent Authority (BCA) after our biennial reassessment in March, enabling us to continue carrying out building control functions.

Pictured from left to right: Melanie Brownlee (Senior Building Control Officer), Riyan Rattan and Bradley Jackson (Building Control Officers in training), and Brendon White (Building Control Officer).

We received an outstanding result from International Accreditation Body of New Zealand (IANZ), receiving only one minor non-compliance that was easily resolved on site. This is a fantastic result for the team and the district and confirmation we are doing things right.

These results are significant with IANZ congratulating our Council on our excellent performance, and mentioning we were one of the highest-performing councils in the country to date and that we are a low-risk BCA.

Our next BCA assessment is not until March 2024. A big thank you to all our customers for your continued support and feedback – we do appreciate it.

Over recent years our cadetship programme has proved successful, bringing keen people into our Council and upskilling them to begin a career in building control.

We do this as nationally there is a general skills shortage within New Zealand's construction and building sector. Our Council wants to assist people who display the right attributes and who see opportunity and value in a building surveying career.

The programme allows cadets to work towards gaining a Level Six diploma in Building Control Surveying over a two-year period through an employment/study pathway. Cadets must be able to multitask because, as well as completing their studies, they're also learning on the job, gaining suitable work experience within our building team.

This year we've taken on three more cadets, all who live locally: Sian Teulon, Bradley Jackson and Riyan Rattan (above, left to right). All three are progressing well through their assignments and tasks which began in February.

We're also pleased to welcome back Melanie Brownlee into the building team. Melanie was one of the first building cadets with us back in 2013. She's since gained experience in the private sector, going from strength to strength. We welcome her back into the team.

No doubt you will come across the above staff as you deal with building control matters.

To assist our commercial applicants, we're introducing Commercial Building Consent (Pre) Application Meetings.

The aim of these meetings is to reduce the number of Requests for Information (RFI) and provide a smoother more personalised process for you. An added bonus could mean a faster lodged application and faster processing and granting timeframes.

We’re beginning (Pre) Application Meetings for Commercial Consent applications from 1 July 2022.

If you’re ready to apply, please follow these steps:

• Call 07 868 0200 to book an appointment. At this stage this will be via Microsoft Teams until we resume face-to-face meetings.
•  At the meeting we will go through the Build Waikato  commercial checklist with you so you have the correct and appropriate information.
• We will contact other departments in our Council who may need to participate.
• You will be given a list of items required.
• Once all information required is compiled you can lodge your consent through our customer portal in the Alpha Online system.
• Our staff member who does the initial meeting with you will process your consent if possible, as we find creating that relationship up front is pretty important.

We look forward to meeting up with you at your (Pre) Application Commercial Consent Application Meeting.

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) consults on changes to the Building Code annually. You have until 1 July to have your say.

This year's proposed changes aim to make new buildings better to protect the safety and wellbeing of New Zealanders, and focus on plumbing and drainage, protection from fire and on structural stability of hollow-core floors.

Have your say on the MBIE website.

 

By 1 July 2022 our Council will have notified those building owners who have a potentially earthquake prone building of their obligations to ensure their building is up to standard - this is within an identified priority route (400-772 Pollen St, Thames).

We're working collaboratively with these owners so they get the right assessments to bring any identified earthquake prone buildings up to the required standards within the specified timeframes.

If a building is determined to be earthquake prone, due to the overall rating, it does not necessarily mean the building is unsafe and unable to be used, it just means it’s less likely to perform as well as a new building in a moderate earthquake.

See more on the government's Building Performance website.

This answer depends on the site location.

Part of the objective of site fencing requirements under the Building Code is to safeguard people from injury from construction or demolition site hazards. There is also a specific requirement to prevent unauthorised access by children.

A very effective way of separating people from hazards and excluding potentially vulnerable children from the site is a fence barrier as noted in F5/AS1.

There will be a higher need of protection in areas with high levels of pedestrian traffic (eg townships, near busy areas like schools) than for example industrial or rural areas.

We realise that a barrier may seem an overkill for subdivisions with lifestyle-size allotments in ‘Living’ or ‘Residential’ zones, but these are residential areas where there tends to be more foot traffic, be near a school, or more likely next to another worksite.

Consideration for fencing may be different on industrial or rural areas where there are other site health and safety conventions that restrict access to the site, or there are large physical distances that restrict access to the site.

You may just need specific hazards fenced when workers aren’t on site if the site is not completely enclosed, so that children can’t access the site unauthorised. A barrier complying with Table 1 of F5/AS1 is an acceptable solution. This may be as simple as having compliant fencing around the immediate building and work area.

So in our role we will be looking at:

• Specifying in your application how you will meet F5 site fencing requirements, and
• Whether you are meeting these requirements as part of our inspections.

If you have a query you want included in this newsletter you are welcome to submit these by either ringing 07 868 0200 or emailing your enquiry to customer.services@tcdc.govt.nz

If this Building E-Newsletter has been forwarded to you and you'd like to receive future issues, please email your details to vicki.kretzer@tcdc.govt.nz