Building boom on the cards for Dunedin

Dunedin (Monday, 30 January 2017) – Dunedin is facing a building boom, according to local building consent data.

In 2016, the Dunedin City Council processed 2717 building consents – the highest number in the past six years.

DCC General Manager Community Services Simon Pickford says staff issued 18% more building consents than in 2015. The value of the consents totalled $402.5 million, which is about twice the average total value of the past five years. [corrected]

“This is great news for the city and reflects the work we have been doing across the DCC to support and encourage economic development.”

Director Enterprise Dunedin John Christie says, “These figures are a real sign of confidence in the market. Investment on this scale in Dunedin shows businesses and consumers feel positive about the city and its future.

“Construction work on this scale generates jobs and work for contractors and suppliers. The fact that some of this growth is in housing shows people are moving into the city.”

The applications include some high profile developments, such as the University of Otago Dental School redevelopment, restoration work on the Dunedin Courthouse and Otago Polytechnic student accommodation.

Of the 2717 consents, 403 were for new residential dwellings, totalling $135.6 million.

Mr Pickford says, “The Building Services team has done an amazing job keeping us within statutory processing timeframes since October, despite such a high number of applications.”

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