Infringement notices to be withdrawn for people using roofs in an unsafe manner

Hamilton Mayor Bob Simcock says he is asking Council staff to withdraw infringement notices issued to people who occupied roofs in an unsafe manner during the V8 supercar event in the city this year.

Mayor Simcock says there is no question that the people perching on roofs, which were never intended to be used in that way when constructed, is an illegal and unsafe activity under the Building Act.

However, Mayor Simcock says the Council took further legal advice today in an effort to resolve the issue of liability for Council and ratepayers if a death or injury should occur as a result of someone falling from a roof.

“That advice, while not completely clear cut, seems to indicate that Council can discharge its responsibilities under the Building Act by warning people that what they are doing is unsafe, without the need to issue an infringement notice.

“Obviously if there is further legal direction which contradicts this advice then we may need to alter this stance,” says Mayor Simcock.

Mayor Simcock says he is quite satisfied that Council staff followed a correct and thorough process in the way in which it communicated with building owners and occupiers where people were sitting on roofs. For people to say that they were not warned in advance of getting infringement notices is not true.

“Council’s intention has always been, and still is, to ensure that buildings are safe and that they are used correctly. This process has never been about preventing people from watching V8 supercar racing from their private property. To the contrary, Council has given a number of permits and consents for private grand stands which have been built around the race circuit in both 2008 and 2009.

New penalty provisions under the Building Act have only recently been introduced. They provide for a set fine of $1500 for minor breaches of the Act.

Mr Simcock says today’s legal advice also indicated that Council was quite correct and justified in issuing infringement notices.