Christchurch builders frustrated by consent delays

Frustrated builders say the Christchurch City Council is still taking far too long to issue consents, more than two months after Crown manager Doug Martin was appointed to fix the crisis.

Mr Martin took over on July 15 after the city council's accreditation to issue building consents was revoked by International Accreditation New Zealand.

A city council newsletter on August 1 headed "Full Steam Ahead for Crown Manager and Council"stated that the city could expect "fast effective change to all aspects"of building consent functions.

But builders contacted by The Star this week said they had noticed little change and were still waiting far too long for consents to be approved.

Canterbury Registered Master Builders' Association president Clive Barrington said business was "cranking up"amid the city's rebuild but consenting was holding things back.

"They're still very slow to be processed," he said.

Mr Barrington said his company, Barrington Construction Ltd, had a large number of residential consents waiting for approval.

"Some have been waiting an unacceptably long time - three to four months - and we've been waiting for one for over four months," he said.

"It puts pressure on our staff."

Mr Barrington said building activity now was similar to a boom period in 2004 "but consenting is slower than it was then".

"Nothing's really changed. It's still too slow. I guess the council is working through the issues and that will take a while, but it's not good enough," he said.

The Star asked the city council how many consents were waiting to be processed, how long building companies could expect to wait and the average time it was taking from lodging a consent to it being granted. But they couldn't give an answer.

A spokeswoman said the city council was "still developing its reporting capabilities to ensure its systems and processes are accurate".

"We therefore cannot collate this information at this time."

Several builders contacted this week were reluctant to speak on the record, fearing a city council backlash could further delay their consent applications.

But they confirmed consents for both commercial and residential buildings were taking much longer than expected.

One company director said he'd been waiting 2-1/2 months for a consent for a central city building his company was wanting to construct for itself.

Another company director who asked not to be named said said consents were taking close to 70 days to be processed.

He acknowledged the city council was being up front with companies by keeping them informed, but he said the situation was "still not good".

Other builders said they were frustrated by the city council seeking the answers to pedantic questions at the last minute.

Paul Southorn, of Southbuild 1996 Ltd, said delays were frustrating.

"Overall, there's been no improvement really," he said.

"Wading through the whole layer of bureaucracy is frustrating. Banging in the nails is the easy part. It used to be the hard part."

- By Cullen Smith of The Christchurch Star