2015 Will Deliver Plenty Of Change Across Western Bay

2015 Will Deliver Plenty Of Change Across Western Bay

TAURANGA, Thursday 8th January 2015: Tauranga property law expert Brooke Courtney says several key projects will affect the Western Bay’s residential building market in 2015, while new laws will help reshape building contracts and workplaces across the region.

Sharp Tudhope Lawyers’ Associate Brooke Courtney says the total value of consents approved for new buildings in Tauranga exceeded $41 million in November 2014, and these projects will help fuel ongoing development in the New Year.

Growth in the construction sector is also likely to increase thanks to factors such as Tauranga’s new affordable housing project due to commence this year.

Tauranga City and Western Bay of Plenty District Council have both entered into an agreement with the Government to increase the supply of housing and improve affordable housing in the region.

The Housing Accord, signed in August 2014, will provide consent to develop 1000 new homes in the Tauranga district and 575 new homes in the Western Bay of Plenty district over the next two years.

“This will provide a significant boost to our construction sector and overall economy as work to build these new homes gets underway,” Courtney says.

New commercial property developments in the Tauranga CBD, including the new Westpac Centre development on Cameron Road and construction of the new multi-story Trustpower building on Durham St, will also drive the building sector and local economy forward as hundreds of workers relocate into the central city.

“Businesses in the CBD should also benefit from the increased activity in the retail and hospitality sectors over the summer period which will draw people into the city,” she says.

Meanwhile, the Tauranga Eastern Link roading project is running ahead of schedule and is now due for completion in late 2015. “This new highway, along with continued works to improve the State Highway 2 Northern Corridor between Tauranga and Waihi, will improve access right across the Bay of Plenty and help promote even more housing growth as people look to set up their homes and businesses here.”

Amid this “building boom”, Courtney says changes to the Building Act 1993 which came in to effect on 1 January 2015 are timely. “The amendments aim to increase transparency between the parties in the building process and also enhance accountability for consumers.”

All building contracts must now contain specific information designed to protect consumers in the event that any disputes arise over residential building work. Building contractors themselves are also legally required to carry out work with reasonable care and skill, and have to fix any problems within one year of completion.

Other legislative changes that will affect Bay residents this year include new health and safety legislation which all workplaces will need to abide by after 1st April.

The Health and Safety Reform Act is the biggest change its kind in more than 20 years and will see company directors – and some individual employees – held liable when accidents occur.

“These new laws place a ‘positive duty’ on the directors and managers of all businesses to ensure they are aware of operational risks and hazards to do with their business,” Courtney explains.

Private asset protection is due for a shake-up in the near future. The Law Commission has proposed significant changes be made to Trust law and the Government is reviewing those changes at present, she says.

“There are lots of changes in store this year and it’s an exciting time to be living in the Bay of Plenty as our community and country continues to grow and evolve.”

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