From November to March we will be undertaking checks on swimming pools to confirm that pool barriers comply. Letters will be sent to home owners in the coming weeks with more details. A notice will be left in the letterbox after the check and will note any items that need to be addressed.

The Building Act 2004 requires Council to inspect the pool barrier regularly for compliance to the Building Code. For more information view the Pool Fencing page and MBIE Building Code Compliance Pool Safety page.

Building Consent and PIM/Compliance Check Processing Timeframes

Please be aware that due to a surge in Building Consent/PIM applications over and above what we normally receive, the timeframe for allocation for Building Consents and PIM/Compliance Checks are currently occurring between 15 and 25 days.

We are mindful you are anticipating your consent will be issued quickly and to help us continue to provide you with our usual high standard of service, we have engaged a number of contractors to help us with the bubble of work.

Although we have more capacity in the consent processing area, we are working to increase the capacity in the PIM area too, as the high volume of work has increased the PIM/Compliance Check processing timeframes, due to this it can sometimes mean delays in processing a consent.

We appreciate your patience.  A consent officer will contact you once they have your job so you will be able to talk to the consent officer directly.

Please bear with us while we work through these issues during busy times.

Inspection Booking Timeframes

Please be aware that you will need to allow 5-6 days when requesting an inspection booking due to the current workload.

We appreciate your patience.  Please bear with us while we work through these issues during busy times.

In November 2019, a change was made to the definition of ‘good ground’ within the B1 Acceptable Solution B1/AS1 to prevent it from being used on liquefaction-prone ground. This change comes into effect from 29 November 2021. The change to B1/AS1 directs those building on liquefaction-prone ground to select appropriate foundations for new structures.

To help councils, engineers and developers implement the changes, MBIE has developed the following resources to help compliance.

• Flowcharts showing compliance pathways for building consents submitted after 28 November 2021.
• Simplified method for specifying foundations for NZS 3604-type residential buildings.
• A summary for the assessment of liquefaction vulnerability at regional scale in accordance with the MBIE/MfE guidance (2017).

These resources can be found at www.building.govt.nz

Please note: The change brings the rules that are currently in place in Canterbury to the rest of New Zealand, meaning robust foundations will be required for liquefaction-prone ground. The new rules will be mandatory across the country after 28 November 2021, ensuring new buildings are being built safely and strongly enough to withstand liquefaction risks.

The Waimakariri District Liquefaction prone areas can be found by accessing the maps at https://www.waimakariri.govt.nz/planning/district-plan/natural-hazards

The Waimakariri District Council Building Unit will no longer accept Building Location Certificates (BLCs) for finished floor levels (FFL) and/or Siting using profile or set out heights. The BLC for FFL and/or Siting confirmation must be to the completed formwork.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact the Building Unit.