Welcome to Building Control 

This page will tell you everything you need to know about Building Consents, how they work, when do you need one, and how to apply for one.

If you are planning to build, carry out alterations or renovate your home or business, this is the place to start. You can find all forms, guides and fees for building consent applications on this page.

Our Commitment to you 

We are committed to delivering high quality, professional regulatory building control and associated services to customers through:

• the provision of high quality and consistent customer service.
• ensuring new and altered buildings in the Westland District are of a high standards through compliance with the Building Act 2004 and building code.
• striving for continuous improvement in our systems and procedures.

We aim is to make the process of applying for, and obtaining, an approved building consent as simple and as easy as possible, not compromise technical accuracy and determine all applications within statutory timeframes.

Roles and Responsibilities of the BCA

The Westland District Council is the Building Consent Authority (BCA) for the district. The roles and responsibilities of the Westland District Council as a BCA include the following:

• Receiving, considering and making decisions on applications for building consents within set time limits.
• Undertaking inspections of building work to ensure it is compliant with the Building Code and Building legislation; and
• Issuing building consents (except consents subject to waiver or modification), code compliance certificates, compliance schedules and notices to fix.

Building Control and Compliance Staff

The Building Control Team try to help you wherever possible. 

Our administration staff answer general building and invoicing queries. If you have a technical question they will transfer you to the Duty Officer of the day.

Building Control Officers are the technical staff who deal with processing consents and inspecting building work. If you have a technical question about your consent or build, you can ask to be put in touch with the Inspector or Processor dealing with your consent (have your consent number or address ready). 

Enquiries

Use information on our website as a starting point but you can also reach us by:

• Email - buildingadmin@westlanddc.govt.nz
• Phone - 03 7569040
• In Person - Westland District Council headquarters, 36 Weld Street, Hokitika.

Council’s customer services team will assist or put your through to the building team for further help.

If you need to escalate an enquiry or concern

You can ask to talk to the Team Leader of Building Control if you need to escalate your enquiry or concern.

Or make a formal complaint by sending an email to buildingadmin@westlanddc.govt.nz, clearly stating that you are making a formal complaint. Include any relevant details of the issue.