Media Releases
September 2002
26 September
Council gears up
Record year for CABs
24 September 2002
Multi-Million
Dollar Investment in Film Studios (Size 25K)
23 September
New guide for home buyers
8 September
Waitakere an EnergyWise finalist
4 September
Sports complex work begins
2 September
Cribb receives citation
26 September
Council Gears Up
Waitakere City Council is gearing up for an expected rise in building consent applications, following news that independent certifiers may not be insured against “leaky building syndrome”.
Homeowners, builders and developers have the option of using either private certifiers or Council inspectors when applying for consents.
Today, the national regulating body, the Building Industry Authority (BIA), advised that for private certifiers to continue they must have a satisfactory scheme of insurance in place (and approved by the Authority).
However, the BIA has found that because of the leaking building syndrome, some insurance companies are refusing to cover certifiers, and as a result the
Building Industry Authority
will not renew their certificates.
That effectively means that firms could no longer continue in business as a certifier.
As a result, the Waitakere City Council expects a rise in the number of new consent applications it receives. In the short-term, this will be managed by a re-deployment of existing staff and applicants are being advised that there may be slight delays in processing times.
At this point, the Council will not, however, take over applications that have already been partially processed by private certifiers.
“Our advice is that this could expose the Council – and its ratepayers- to legal claims should defects be found in the future,” says Waitakere chief executive Harry
O’Rourke
“While we have sympathy for people who have been caught out using private certifiers, this is an issue between them and the company they employed. We are seeking further legal advice and hope to be able to assist people if we can in the future.”
The Council is advising people who may have engaged certifiers to liaise directly with those companies or to seek advice from the
BIA.
 The Building
Industry Association's contact details are:
If you would like
further information on buying a terraced house or apartment see New guide for home buyers.
26 September
Record year for CABs
More than 36,800 public enquiries were dealt with by Waitakere City’s four Citizen Advice Bureaux over the last year – up 3.6% on the previous year.
At 8351, legal issues accounted for the highest number of enquiries – 600 more than in the previous year. Other main topics for information and advice included health and welfare, traffic and immigration, relationships and counselling, finance and employment. Henderson and New Lynn were the two busiest offices, with more than 11,600 enquiries each.
The Citizens Advice Bureaux provide a free general information service to residents. Each week, 300 volunteer hours are donated to provide this service across the city. Each volunteer undergoes 40 hours of basic training so they are able to offer information, assistance, advice and advocacy to assist their clients on a wide range of issues.
In the last financial year, Waitakere City Council provided $275,000 to its four CABs at Glen Eden, Henderson, Massey and New Lynn to help them carry out their work. In 1998, the Council vowed that the strategic partnership between the two organisations continue.
As part of that commitment, the Massey CAB was built into the new Massey Leisure Centre and Library, as the Council recognised the importance of streamlining the provision of information to residents by co-locating the library and CAB under one roof. Plans are also afoot to include CAB offices in the new libraries planned for Glen Eden, New Lynn and Henderson.
One person who knows first-hand the amount of work that goes into running a CAB office is
Waitakere City Councillor, Gwen Nash, who has had 21 years involvement with CAB management in Waitakere City.
Gwen Nash is currently a committee and life member of the Massey CAB, an office she helped establish back in 1990.
“A huge tribute must go to the volunteers,” she says. “It is a very rewarding job, but this service to the public wouldn’t be possible without their devotion.”
23 September
New guide for home buyers
A new guide to help buyers of terraced houses or apartments is now available from Waitakere City Council.
The Council contributed to the content of the guide, titled ‘What to look for when buying a terraced house or apartment’, which has been primarily produced by North Shore City Council.
With recent housing design and quality issues highlighted in the media, the aim of the guide is to help buyers choose a good quality property.
The guide takes the prospective buyer on a journey - helping them to prepare and suggesting what to look out for and key questions to ask. It features information on choosing the right location, neighbourhood character, building quality, layout and design, as well as management and maintenance issues and ways to reduce noise.
The back page of the guide contains a fold-out section for people to record their thoughts and compare properties they’ve viewed.
Waitakere City Council’s City Development Committee Chair, Carolynne Stone, says the guide aims to help buyers to be more informed.
"We need to raise the overall standard and quality of medium density housing in the wider Auckland region," she says.
"We want to do what we can to assist people to make an informed decision and to feel comfortable that what they’re buying is sound.
“The Council supports having a choice of living environments to reflect people’s differing needs, and in keeping with our
Eco-City philosophy, we also want to see our residents in well-designed, quality developments that enhance the communities we all live in.” Note: For the following you will need to have 
Adobe Acrobat Reader
installed on your computer in order to view and print this document. For
help opening PDF files or tips on copying information see Helpful
Tips.
Buying
a terraced house (Size 482K)
For more information contact us
or see other building publications.
8 September
Waitakere an EnergyWise finalist
Waitakere City Council is a finalist in the 2002 EnergyWise Awards.
It is one of five finalists in the Public Sector category of the awards (run by the
Energy Efficiency Conservation Authority), which
recognises leaders in sustainable business practice through energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy.
Two Waitakere City eco-buildings - the New Lynn Community Centre and the
Massey Leisure Centre and Library - and
The Better Building Code, a guide to sustainable building, earned the Council its finalist spot.
Entries were judged on their positive environmental effects, such as CO2 reductions, energy efficiency and use of renewable energy, as well as cost effectiveness, innovation and sustainability.
"Waitakere City is leading the way in providing sustainable public buildings and promoting eco-friendly alternatives to its community - and our place in the finals reflects that,” says Environmental Management Committee chair, Cr Penny
Hulse.
“We can be very proud of our new community buildings in New Lynn and Westgate. They are being held up, both here and overseas, as examples of how to do things right – and they are winning the City awards again and again.
“We hope that energy-wise initiatives will soon be the norm when people think about creating new buildings, not only for the money they can save, but for the benefit of the environment.”
The category winners will be announced on September 26 – the day before the Council hosts the EECA’s biannual EnergyWise Councils Partnership Forum.
The forums provide an opportunity for local authorities to exchange information about promoting and supporting energy efficiency initiatives within their community, as well as their own
organisation.
The September forum will showcase Waitakere’s leadership in providing sustainable public buildings and includes a tour of the
New Lynn Community Centre.
For more information contact us
or see:
4 September
Sports complex work begins
Construction of the new Waitakere Sports Complex in Henderson is set to begin.
President of the Waitakere Athletics Club, Ron Hanson, turned the first sod on the Central Park Drive building site.
Developed by the Waitakere Regional Sports Trust, with Waitakere City Council as a key partner, the $21 million complex will be the City’s biggest community facility, suitable for a wide cross-section of uses.
Covering some 11,000 sq m, the complex will feature indoor seating for up to 5000, six basketball/netball courts, a gymnasium, café, crèche, an international all-weather athletics track and three outdoor playing fields. It will also be able to host trade shows, exhibitions, conferences and other community events.
The multi-purpose complex will provide a base for a number of sporting codes, including netball, basketball, athletics, rugby and volleyball. It will also house a number of sports administration bodies, foundations and trusts, including Sport Waitakere and the Don Oliver Youth Sports Foundation. Other user groups lining up to use the complex include gymnastics, badminton, dance, weightlifting, cricket and schools.
A development board, set up by the Waitakere Regional Sports Trust and comprising local sporting, community and business leaders, is overseeing the project.
The board has raised some $17.4 million through generous funding from Waitakere City Council, the ASB Charitable Trust, the Waitakere and Portage Licensing Trusts, Hillary Commission, Heron Coaches Foundation, Sport Waitakere and the NZ Lotteries Commission.
For
more information contact us or
see Waitakere Sports Complex.
2 September
Cribb receives citation
All Black Ron Cribb was honoured at the latest Waitakere City Council
meeting.
He was presented with a special citation for his achievements and acknowledged as a role model for youngsters.
The big number 8 grew up in Massey and describes himself as “a westie, through and through”.
He attended Massey High School, where he played in the First XV, before moving on to play for the Massey Rugby Club, North Harbour, the Crusaders and Blues and, eventually, the All Blacks. He has also represented NZ Maori.
Cribb has earned 15 test caps but is currently out injured after suffering a major knee injury in the 2001 Super 12 season.
Waitakere Mayor Bob Harvey says he first met Cribb a year or so ago when he received a phone call out of the blue. “Ron asked if there was anything he could do for the City. He wanted to put something back into the community he grew up in. Ron is more than a great rugby player. He is also a hell of a nice guy who is willing to use his fame to inspire and motivate young people.”
Cribb’s schoolboy friend and fellow All Black Troy Flavell was also to have received a citation at the Council meeting but was unexpectedly called out of town.
For
more information contact us.
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