18 December 2014

Council gets building consents accreditation

Christchurch City Council has been granted accreditation as a Building Consent Authority.

International Accreditation New Zealand (IANZ) has confirmed the Council has met the requirements of the Building (Accreditation of Building Consent Authorities) Regulations 2006.

Mayor Lianne Dalziel says regaining accreditation is an important part of the Council’s role in the rebuild.

“Regaining accreditation is a real milestone not only for the Council but also for the city. People who rely on our Building Control Group to issue consents and to inspect buildings in a timely and effective manner can be reassured by the granting of accreditation. It signals confidence in our ability to make decisions and implement the changes necessary for the rebuild.”

Building Control and City Rebuild Director Peter Sparrow says, “We always said we were on track to have accreditation by the end of the year and, while it was an ambitious target given all the work we had to do, we’ve made it.”

Gaining accreditation means the Crown Manager’s appointment can end as planned on 31 December.

“The staff and new management team have put in a huge effort over the past year implementing a lot of changes to get to this point,” says Crown Manager Doug Martin.

Mr Martin will provide a report to the Minister of Building and Housing, Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister and Minister of Local Government explaining lessons from his appointment as well as offering guidance on opportunities for policy development. The report is due early next year.

IANZ Chief Executive Llewellyn Richards says, "IANZ is very impressed with the improvements at Christchurch, particularly at the efforts Christchurch is now taking to ensure that consents issued consistently meet the requirements of the Building Regulations and Act".

"We look forward to the next assessment".

Mr Sparrow says even now the Council has achieved accreditation, there is more work to be done.

“Our aim is to set a new standard for building control activities in New Zealand. We will work with the industry and central government agencies to further improve consenting services.”

IANZ plans to do a standard accreditation assessment of the Council in August 2015.

More information about accreditation, along with the IANZ assessment reports is available on the Council website, go to www.ccc.govt.nz/bcactionplan

Building Control FAQs IANZ accreditation

ENDS

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