Chch City to vote on Crown manager after consenting fiasco

Christchurch City to vote on Crown manager after consenting fiasco; CEO takes leave

July 3 (BusinessDesk) – Christchurch City Council will vote tomorrow on a government-appointed Crown manager and chief executive Tony Marryatt has taken leave after the city lost its ability to issue building consents.

International Accreditation New Zealand, a government body based in Auckland that runs accreditation programmes for everything from meat plants to radiology, wool and building consents this week revoked the council’s accreditation, stripping it of the ability to issue consents from next Monday.

Among IANZ’s concerns, consents had been granted where there was no evidence developments met the building code.

Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee and Local Government Minister Chris Tremain were set to meet the council today but that meeting has been cancelled pending the outcome of tomorrow’s vote.

Assuming the move is approved, councillors will then meet with Tremain to discuss the Crown manager’s terms of reference, Mayor Bob Parker said in a statement

City CEO Marryatt is “taking leave pending further discussions with the council,” Parker’s statement said. General manager City Environment, Jane Parfitt, will be acting CEO in the meantime.

“It’s crucial that the community and the government have complete confidence in the robustness of the consents process which is vital for the city’s rebuild,” Parker said. “The situation around building consents is serious, and it has become apparent that councillors have not been well served by the information that has been provided to us.”

Brownlee said he welcomed Parker’s statement.

“This decision will ensure they get a robust consenting system in place, and is a constructive and welcome step forward,” he said in a separate statement.

(BusinessDesk)

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