Whanganui building consents processed swiftly amid Govt push for transparency

Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says publishing consent data is "an effort to drive accountability and transparency". Photo / NZME

• Building consents in Whanganui are processed in an average of 10.33 days, meeting timeframes 96.4% of the time in 2024.
• Minister Chris Penk emphasised the need for accountability and transparency, noting delays cost over $1 billion annually.
• Stonewood Homes' Anthony O’Leary highlighted increased compliance requirements, adding complexity and cost to the process.

Building consents in Whanganui are processing quickly as the Government aims for “accountability and transparency” in the system nationwide.

Whanganui District Council regulatory and compliance operations manager Jason Shailer said the average processing time in Whanganui was 10.33 days, with the council meeting the required timeframe 96.4% of the time in 2024.

Local authorities have 20 working days to process applications for building consents unless further information is required.

In that instance, the council can pause the process.

“In 2024 the council received 846 building and Clause 2 Exemption applications, a reduction of 3.2% from 2023 with 874 applications received,” Shailer said.

Last year, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) began publishing data on how quickly authorities processed building consents.

Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk said he told MBIE to do that “to drive accountability and transparency”.

Before that, there was no consistent nationwide data on building consent timeframes, he said.

Data published for quarter three last year (July to September) showed 92% of building consent applications were processed within the statutory timeframe.

“This is up from 88% when reporting started in Q1 2024.”

However, a recent report estimated that delays caused by pausing consents cost more than $1 billion a year and equated to half a million days lost, Penk said.

That was “clearly unacceptable” and he had directed officials to see what more could be done to reduce overall processing time.

“I understand that often designers submit incomplete applications which trigger a genuine request for information and I am keen to understand why this is occurring.”

Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says there was no consistent nationwide data on building consent timeframes until last year. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Stonewood Homes Whanganui director Anthony O’Leary said there had been significant changes to national building standards in recent years.

“[The Government] can crack the whip all they like but if they are adding more levels to compliance, they only have themselves to blame if local government is not performing as fast as they would like,” he said.

One example was the additional paperwork required to show building products were compliant.

“That’s fine, they are all compliant, but it meant I had to include another five pieces of paper for every product in every building consent,” O’Leary said.

“I know there is a point for it but you’re adding another layer and another cost. And, you [Government] are wanting it done faster.”

Shailer said it was common that the council needed more information but that was “not because of competence or incompetence”.

“Even experienced builders will get those requests and every consent application is different,” he said.“

“You could be doing an application for a fireplace or you could be doing a three-storey building.

“Look at the courthouse and police station that’s happening at the moment. That’s as complex as anything.”

A new justice precinct is being built on the former Ucol Polytechnic campus site bordered by Bell, Dublin, Wicksteed and Liverpool streets.

The council’s relationship with the local construction sector was generally good and, judging by the consents submitted, the quality of work in the district was high, Shailer said.

“Tradies are generally problem solvers so they’ll try and work through issues to come to a solution.

“They are the same as us. They are working to get a good solution for their client.”

Contractors were processing about 35-50% of Whanganui building consent applications because of the council’s staff resources.

O’Leary said consents being handled out of town could lead to inconsistency.

“You could have two identical consents and get two different lots of questions,” he said.

“I believe the council want to bring [consenting] more in-house and I’m hoping that will help.

“There is always room for improvement but council has to do what it has to do and we work through things.”

Shailer said the council wanted to process applications as quickly as possible but it had to be confident they complied with the Building Act - “it’s a fine balance”.

“What we don’t want is a town that looks the same and that’s the tradeoff, I guess.

“If you have character and variety, you’re going to have designs that challenge what we do.

“Imagine if it was all just square, three-bedroom houses. It would be easy but it would be a boring neighbourhood.”

Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.