The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) has released its review into how the Tauranga City Council performed its building control functions with respect to the failed Bella Vista development.
"The review concluded there were a number of reasons for the Council’s failure to perform its regulatory functions with respect to the Bella Vista Development, but the common theme was the Council’s failure to follow its own normal building control processes for this development,” says Lead Advisor Paul Hobbs who led MBIE’s review.
“MBIE found Council management intervened in normal process, assigning the development a single point of contact, meaning concerns about the development were not escalated appropriately.”
The review also found Council did not:
- Enter conditions on building consents or follow through on the need for third-party verification of compliance;
- Manage departures from building consents in accordance with the proper procedure;
- Use enforcement powers to stop or require remediation of non-compliant building work when this was observed; and
- Maintain proper records.
Mr Hobbs says the circumstances leading to the failure of the Bella Vista development appear to be an isolated incident and MBIE did not find evidence to indicate there is a systemic issue.
"MBIE also notes the Council has already made process improvements to prevent similar failures happening in the future.
“MBIE will also share findings of the review with other Buliding Consent Authorities and the wider sector, so others can take action to improve their own building control functions with what was learned from the Bella Vista development review,”