Nearly $786m worth of building consents were issued in 2022. Photo / Mead Norton
Nearly $786m worth of building consents were issued in 2022. Photo / Mead Norton
The value of building consents issued in Tauranga fell last year after reaching record levels in 2021 - but the commercial sector remains strong.
Nearly $786 million worth of building consents were issued in from January to November. The 1622 residential consents valued at $502,799,877 and 223 commercialconsents were valued at $283,131,646, according to Tauranga City Council reports.
December figures were yet to be released.
This compared to 2290 consents issued from January to November 2021 valued at nearly $1 billion.
The council’s building services manager Steve Pearce said it was not surprising the volume and value of consents were down last year.
“The second half particularly has seen a noticeable drop in consents, presumably in response to uncertainty in the market. This has been most pronounced in the number of new dwelling consents. By comparison, commercial consents continue to remain strong.”
Pearce said the average value of residential building works consented had gone up by about 5 per cent compared with the previous year.
“In contrast, while the volume of commercial consents is not significantly different, the average value of commercial building works has dropped by 16 per cent.
“This is largely a result of some particularly large projects consented [in 2021] , including the Winstone Wallboards factory in Tauriko.”
The biggest commercial consents in terms of value included $15m to relocate and expand Brookfield School 300 metres down the road from its current Millers Rd site, which was issued in March.
The new school will be built on a site almost double the size of its existing grounds and provide capacity for up to 700 pupils once complete.
Moving and expanding Brookfield School was one of the biggest consents approved by the Tauranga City Council.
Another consent valued at $15m was to build new classrooms, an admin block, a student hauora, learning blocks, a wharenui, a library, a technology centre, and a second gym at Pāpāmoa College was also issued in May.
Ministry of Education infrastructure and digital leader (hautū), Scott Evans, said construction of the new Brookfield Primary School was under way.
“The concrete slabs for the three teaching blocks have been poured, and the internal structure erected. Roofing on one of the blocks has been installed and the external framing of this block is under way.”
The school was expected to be completed at the end of this year and open for use in Term 1, 2024.
Evans said construction was also under way at Pāpāmoa College on two, two-storey teaching blocks, which included the library.
Both blocks were expected to be completed in October.
Design work had been completed for the new administration building, which included the student hauora, technology building, wharenui, and gym, he said.
Construction was due to start in Term 1, 2023 on the administration and technology blocks.
“Estimated timeframes for construction of the whare and gym to start are the first half of 2024.”
In September 2022, the council issued a building consent valued at $15m to build a key communal amenity building at Pacific Lakes Village on Grenada St.
At the time, Graham Wilkinson, director of Generus Living Group, which owns Pacific Coast and Pacific Lakes villages in a partnership with Mangatawa Papamoa Blocks Incorporated, said the consent was for a building called the Pavilion.
Wilkinson said the 2500-3000sq m pavilion would be built in two stages, with the first stage including a bar, restaurant, lounges, library, multi-function hall and administration centre. The second stage would be a gym and pool.
The project would take about two years to complete, he said.
21112293cameronroad.JPG An artist's impression of what the new NZ Blood Donor Service centre and Manawa Energy head office could look like.
In November 2022, a consent valued at $16m was issued for a five-storey office building on 93 Cameron Rd. The building, which includes an underground car park and four storeys of office space, will become the new head office for Manawa Energy and a new blood donor centre three times bigger than its original space.
Blood Service donor services director, Doug Gallagher, said at the time, he was “excited” about the prospect of having a new, purpose-built facility in Tauranga that was designed “with the donor at heart”.
Manawa Energy’s community engagement and communications adviser, Annie Tangata, also said at the time it felt “fantastic” to have the project under way.
Top five consents 2022
103 TAITIMU RD
Construct a new 16500m warehouse and attached two-storey office building. Stage 1: foundations, floor slabs, precast concrete panels and site civil work
$16,000,000
93 CAMERON RD
Stage 2 building work for five-storey office building.
$16,000,000
72 MILLERS RD
Primary School Stage 2 - structure, facade, roof, services and interior
$15,000,000
151 DONCASTER DRIVE
Stage 1 - Construction of classrooms blocks 4-6
$15,000,000
242 GRENADA ST
The project is a key communal amenity building. The building is a single-level residential facility, approximately 2500sqm, including a multi-purpose space
