A 44 per cent drop in income from building consents issued in Waipā paints a stark picture of the state of the construction industry, figures released to the council’s Finance and Corporate committee this week show.
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Eleven months into the financial year, 1251 building consents worth $275.17 million have been processed. For the previous financial year to June 30 last year, there were 1665 building consents worth $488.77 million.
The other barometer comes with development contributions – money paid to the council by developers to fund growth related infrastructure. The council forecasts it will finish the financial year at the end of this month with $15.572 million, nearly $11.65 million shy of its budget. By the end of last month, it had only received $7.354 million.
Ken Morris
In a financial report signed off by Business Support group manager Ken Morris, a drop of $14.9 million in fees and charges – most from a reduction in property sales and a fall in revenue from building fees – showed slower growth in the district.
And the fall in development contributions indicated growth projects were being deferred.
Overdue rates – from the $83.3 million levied – sat at $1.8 million on May 31 with $126,186 still outstanding from previous years. Water rates of $15.4 million were invoiced for the year with $1.5 million of that owing at the end of last month.
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