Conviction for illegal building work

A North Shore man has been convicted and fined on three charges in relation to constructing an extra floor over his Browns Bay industrial units without obtaining a building consent.

Judge Hinton fined the building owner, Donald Fairley, a total of $29,000 plus costs of $4,746 in the North Shore District Court last week.

Mr Fairley must also remove or legalise the unconsented building work at his premises in Bute Road, Browns Bay, by January 31.

The unconsented building work was started in September 2006. Council officers investigated after being advised by Department of Labour inspectors who were concerned about the safety of construction staff on the site.

North Shore City Council team leader compliance and monitoring David Frith says that the offences under the Building Act 2004 were at a relatively high end of the scale.

"Mr Fairley was adding a second storey to his property without obtaining a building consent. He refused to obtain a consent when he was asked, failed to comply with a "Notice to Fix" and in the end the council had to obtain an interim injunction in order to halt the work.

"The Building Consent process helps to ensure that buildings in our city are safe, sanitary and structurally sound. With no building consent and no inspections, there is no assurance to the community that a building is safe and fit for its intended purpose," he says.

The fines imposed were $8500 for carrying out building work without a consent, $18,000 for continued non-compliance with a "Notice to Fix" and $2,500 for obstructing a council officer.

In imposing the sentence, Judge Hinton commented on the even-handed manner in which the Council had handled a very difficult case. 90 percent of the fines imposed and all the costs will be paid to the Council.