Building Standards In Palmerston North

Manawatu Times, Volume 70, Issue 45, 22 February 1945, Page 7

Building Standards In Palmerston North

In the course of a lengthy report submitted to the Palmerston North City Council, the council’s building inspector (Mr. H. H. Mackrell) commented that, after a close inspection over a period of two months since he resumed his duties, he had found a decided falling off in the standard of work generally. Home of the causes were the depositing of poor plans and specifications and insufficient inspections. He made it clear that this was no reflection on city engineer’s staff. The amount of work done warranted a full-time officer and even a superman could not have done other work besides the building inspector’s' duties. The remedy suggested by the inspector was a stiffening up on the standard

of plans and specifications deposited, a close check and maximum inspections. Much work was being done without a permit and in many cases contrary to the city by-laws and the building and health regulations. The cause was an inadequate staff for checking. The remedy for this in the first instance, was a warning notice and, if this were not complied with, a prosecution. As to the disfigurement of the city by the erection of a poor type of Army hut, the cause again was an inadequate staff for a check. To remedy this all proposed buildings should be inspected before a permit was issued and reasonable stipulations made as to erection. Various other suggestions were made by the inspector to cover instances which he quoted, such as a minimum value for dwellings in certain streets, zoned town planning, more rigid control over the erection of garages and workshops in residential areas, and steps to with the erection of sheds mid their conversion to living quarters by Chinamen and Hindus. The council authorised Cr. T. P. Hart and Mr. Mackrell to discuss matters mentioned in the report with the city solicitors in order to ascertain whether by-laws could be framed to remedy the defects pointed out by the inspector.