A step on the way to faster building consent processing

Faster building consent processing times are expected to result from a new process and form for issuing Far North District Council Project Information Memorandums (PIMs) and building consents (BCs) concurrently.


The Far North District Council is introducing the new forms and systems from Monday, October 1 as part of an overall customer contact strategy designed to improve the council’s customer service.


The new process and forms have been presented to a customer group with very positive results and it’s expected they will be welcomed by others when they start to be used more widely.


Regulatory and Customer Services manager Patrick Schofield says the forms will be phased-in from the beginning of October when they will be available at all council service centres and via the council’s website www.fndc.govt.nz. People who have the old forms can keep using them for another month while the change-over takes place.


The council has simplified the form and introduced checklists for specific types of projects so that customers can more clearly identify what information is required.


“We have also combined the PIM and BC processes so that they run concurrently and take less time,” Mr Schofield said. “The goal is to make the forms easier to understand so that there is less missing or incorrect information when they are handed in.


“By collecting all the required information at the time applications are submitted, we also expect to reduce the number of consent suspensions.”


The council’s aim is for combined consents to be issued within 20 working days, provided that all the information required to process the consent is received at the time of application.


Mr Schofield said the council was now turning its attention to updating resource consent processing forms and would be introducing further improvements to both building and resource consents processing, including application meetings where trained staff would check each application before it was accepted.


Further information about the new forms and processes is available direct from council service centres, by phone 0800 920 029 or 09 405 2750, or via the council website www.fndc.govt.nz