Council an Accredited and Registered Building Consent Authority.

Franklin District Council has officially received its Building Consent Authority accreditation and registration certificates. Franklin District Council was required under The Building Act 2004 to be accredited and registered by 30 November 2007 as a Building Consent Authority. Council not only achieved this but was the seventh council in New Zealand to do so.

The accreditation certificate was couriered to Council while the registration certificate was presented to Franklin District Council’s Building Control Manager, Ewan Higham, at a special presentation in Wellington.

“There really was a mood of celebration and acknowledgement at the lunch with the other six councils who have been accredited so far. And, of course, we’re all happy to be through the other side now!” says Ewan.

Indeed, working towards accreditation coincided with a high volume of building activity across the whole country. Department of Building and Housing CEO, Katrina Bach, acknowledged this in a letter to Council congratulating them on their achievement, saying:

“Undertaking routine building controls work while also preparing for accreditation has put a lot of pressure on those at the front line of the building controls process. I appreciate and respect the effort that has gone into achieving accreditation.”

Being the seventh council in New Zealand shows that Franklin District Council gave a “high level of commitment and priority” to the process, says Katrina.

The fact that Council is now accredited is good news for the Council and also good news for the community. Going through the vigorous process to be accredited means that those building or buying a home or business in Franklin can be assured that Council has robust processes to help give them the very best service.