14 May 2004

Building boom continues in Auckland city

An increase in the number of building and resource consent applications between January and March indicates a continued rise in building activity in Auckland city.

Auckland City statistics show applications for building consents were at the highest level during March for the past three years. 820 applications were received in March, a 21 per cent increase from February 2004. Resource consents continued their upward trend, with consent applications up more than 20 per cent.

The number of large, complex and high value projects occurring across the city is also at an all time high. Projects such as the Western rail line, numerous large apartment developments and the Quay Street Ferry Terminal upgrade often require multiple input from various specialists. A project management team has been established to act as a single point of contact for applicants with complicated developments. Jenny Oxley, group manager for Auckland City Environments, says that staff are fully committed to responding to the high demand for consents and inspections, and, like many in the industry, are under pressure. People should allow for extra processing time when lodging their applications. Importantly, staff will not be taking shortcuts or relaxing standards demanded by the various statutes and codes of compliance.

“Like many in the industry, we have been affected by a shortage of skilled building staff, which has placed increased pressure on resources. Through a recent recruitment campaign in the United Kingdom, we have recruited four well-qualified staff. Two of these people have already started at Auckland City and the others are expected to join us by June,” says Ms Oxley. Overtime and utilisation of all available consultant expertise also form part of the response to the current level of consent activity.

“We apologise to customers who are affected by these delays and reassure them that we are doing everything we can to get through the large number of consent applications within an acceptable timeframe.”

ENDS

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Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>