Vanessa Mitchell: Selwyn District Council Head of Building on the Government's new building reforms

The Selwyn District Council welcomes proposed Government reforms to speed up building consents.

The nation's fastest-growing region says any changes that could speed up progress are helpful, as building consents have always been a focus for the Selwyn District Council.

Selwyn District Council Head of Building, Vanessa Mitchell, says this move will free up inspectors to focus on other areas.

"We've been under enormous pressure over the past few years - and we really see advantages in the proposals that have come out."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The next Heller duple see Allen. Now, New Zealand's fastest
growing region has weighed in on the government's building reform.
The Selwyn District council sare's any news of speeding up
consents is obviously welcome and Selwyn District Council's head of
Building is Vanessa Mitchell. Have Vanessa?

Speaker 2 (00:14):
Hi, how are you?

Speaker 1 (00:15):
I'm very well, thank you? So what is it that
you like about this?

Speaker 2 (00:19):
What I like about it is the minister is really
engaging with the sector in looking at what can be
done to address the pain points. And you guys in place, Sorry.

Speaker 1 (00:29):
You're feeling the pain points, aren't you.

Speaker 2 (00:31):
We are failing the pain points. Where As the fastest
growing district, we've been under enormous pressure over the past
few years and we really see advantages in some of
the self certification proposals that have come out. There are
key parts of the industry that quite rightly should be
able to self certify their own work and that would

(00:53):
actually free our inspectors up to focus on our areas
and get around more inspections.

Speaker 1 (01:00):
Yeah, are you're given that you are the fastest grug region?
Are your inspectors snowed under? At the moment.

Speaker 2 (01:06):
Actually, at the moment, they're not. We've had quite a
quiet period. So at the moment, whilst sometimes they do
have to sorry if people do have to wait two
to three days foreign inspection, we're not snowed under.

Speaker 1 (01:20):
Is that that's because of the recession?

Speaker 2 (01:21):
Right?

Speaker 1 (01:21):
Probably nobody snowed under it at the moment. Yeah, yeah, yeah
it is.

Speaker 2 (01:25):
Yeah. Yeah, it's been a really quiet period. We are
expecting though, at the end of this year that it
will pick up and preparing for, yes, things to take
off again next year with the softoming interest rates, et cetera.

Speaker 1 (01:39):
Yeah, so good to have them basically doing it themselves.
But are you worried at all about the fact that
the liability falls off like this idea that they take
the take on the liability themselves and bump it up
to their insurance companies. Does that worry you or are
you just relieved that you guys aren't the ones who
are liable.

Speaker 2 (01:56):
No. I think if if they hold liable for their work,
take more care in carrying out their functions. So I
think it's a real positive and I think to support that,
it's really going to be heavily reliant on the industry
bodies to play their part in developing guidelines for their members,
monitoring their performance and ensuring they've got those disciplinary processes

(02:18):
in place as well.

Speaker 1 (02:20):
I guess the reason that you because it's commonly said
that inspectors are extremely conservative council inspectors, and that would
be because you guys are not personally, but you guys
are liable, aren't you as the counsel if something goes wrong.
Therefore they have to be conservative.

Speaker 2 (02:36):
Yes, yeah, it's fair to say they risk at birth
for the fact that joint in several liability settings mean
that typically we're the last men standing with the deepest pocket.

Speaker 1 (02:45):
M okay, So all in all a good thing.

Speaker 2 (02:48):
Yeah, yes, yeah, definitely.

Speaker 1 (02:51):
Vanessa, thanks very much, appreciate is Venessa Mitchell, Selwyn, District Council,
Head of Building. For more from Heather Duplessy Alan Drive,
listen live to Newstalk said Be from four pm weekdays,
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