The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) has begun its 2022 update of the Building Code. Areas of change include plumbing and drainage, structural stability, and fire protection.
Category: building and construction
Improving disclosure of natural hazard information in LIMs
Councils would have greater confidence with respect to providing natural hazard information on LIMs through nationally consistent legislation now on the horizon. The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) will be engaging with local government from February through to April on the operation and implementation of changes to LGOIMA, focussing on how this can be implemented successfully and the role of regional councils.
New decision-making framework for earthquake-prone council buildings
Councils across Aotearoa New Zealand face difficult decisions regarding their earthquake-prone buildings. In response to this issue a recommended decision-making framework, which will help council staff make choices more confidently and robustly, has been released by BRANZ.
Draft Infrastructure Strategy released
The Infrastructure Commission, Te Waihanga has just released its Draft New Zealand Infrastructure Strategy. This was developed following consideration of submissions received during their public consultation as well as stakeholder engagement, international and domestic research, and the results from the online Aotearoa 2050 survey.
Hastings housing on show
Last week more than 65 local government, central government, and iwi representatives gathered in Hastings for a showcase tour of the Hastings Place Based Housing Plan.
Building houses – prefabs and building products
Parliament is nearing completion of major changes to the Building Act to remove barriers to prefabricated consenting and to regulate building products. The changes will create an entirely new prefab consenting path and put central governmental controls on building products.
New insulation standards consultation
The Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE) has just released a proposal to alter the Building Code to increase the energy efficiency of new homes, as well as a raft of other improvements in terms of energy efficiency and housing densification. This is hugely significant as it will affect all councils across the country both in terms of well-being and regulatory enforcement. Therefore, we strongly encourage councils to make a submission on the proposal. Council input could come from building regulators, those in sustainability or policy, and anyone with an interest in this matter.
Hasting District Council gains BERL Award for Collaborative Government Action for innovative housing project
An innovative Hasting District Council housing project has been awarded the BERL Award for Collaborative Government Action as part of the 2021 LGFA Taituarā Local Government Excellence Awards, presented at a Gala Dinner event in Wellington tonight.
Infrastructure for the Future
New Zealand’s infrastructure deficit, and how we can better plan for the future have recently become some pretty hot topics. To help address this Taituarā is holding an ‘Infrastructure for the Future Forum’ on 24 June 2021. This is timely given Te Waihanga | The New Zealand Infrastructure Commission is currently consulting on a 30-year Infrastructure Strategy for New Zealand.