Fletcher’s OSM Failure in New Zealand: Build speed is faster than compliance speed in Auckland
🎻👷🏻♀️Fletcher’s OSM Failure in New Zealand: Build speed is faster than compliance speed in Auckland 🎻👷🏻♀️
Perhaps the biggest issue facing innovative construction in our biggest city is compliance processing.
Some build (once foundations are down) simple stick houses in as short as 11 weeks. This is fast.
For many of my peers build speed is not the bottleneck.
I note that so far I have been am lucky and have generally really good compliance processing times.
The current BIGGEST compliance complaint post construction is around our friends at hashtagWATERCARE who are insisting on the work-over (WO) completion certificate being granted POST ALL WORKS and they report it is taking THREE MONTHS.
This is an important step because it says that the construction process didn’t harm underground public pipes and they are in good condition.
Yes, folks, you heard it here first, three months on full draw-down where WATERCARE does a check and tick-box process to get new assets vested (ownership transferred) to them.
This may seem insignificant to many, but the “WO” is needed for the CCC (code compliance certificate) which in turn is needed for the Title.
It takes WEEKS for Watercare to even ‘pick’ the WO approval up and WEEKS to be checked by the engineer.
Recently TWO small developers and one small-mid sized called me and told me they have had around a TWELVE week wait to get this for their CCC sign-off.
Watercare Services Limited do you know how expensive this is for a developer at full draw-down?
Surely the cert. can be issued on completion of associated works and correct CCTV?
Please review your process and take this message as some feedback from those on the ground trying to develop housing in this oppressive processing environment.
This is like the flea on the tail wagging the dog. Watercare’s works-over should NOT be controlling Auckland’s house building for small in-fill housing — all good for greenfields as they are unlikely to have the problem… yet another challenge that means in-fill is not really economic in many areas.
While Fletcher’s Clever Core proved it could reduce a traditional 22-week build to just 6 weeks, there is little point in many of us innovating the build process when consent processes can take months.
Until we address this regulatory bottleneck, even the most innovative construction technologies will struggle to deliver their promised efficiency gains.
