Building Consent, Producer Statement, and Code Compliance Certificate for alterations to balconies at 598 Castle St.
David Robert Searle made this Official Information request to Dunedin City Council
Dunedin City Council did not have the information requested.
From: David Robert Searle
Dear Dunedin City Council,
Please send, for the 2016 - 2017 alterations to the balconies at 598 Castle St, Dunedin:
1/ the Building Consent Application with drawings and specifications;
2/ the Building Consent;
3/ the structural engineer's producer statement;
4/ the inspections, names of the inspectors and their notes;
5/ notices to rectify and;
5/ the Code Compliance Certificate.
Yours faithfully,
David Robert Searle
From: Kristy Rusher
Dunedin City Council
Dear David,
Thank you for your information request where (in summary) you asked for
copies of building consent documentation for building work which has been
carried out at 598 Castle Street.
We do not hold the information that you requested. However, our building
inspectors immediately attended the property and discovered that building
work has recently been carried out which the Council was not aware of.
We are grateful to you for bringing this to our attention. We are now
taking compliance action and working with the building owner to ensure
that the requirements of the Building Act 2004 are met as soon as is
reasonably practicable.
Regards,
Kristy Rusher
Manager Civic and Legal, Corporate Services
Dunedin City Council/Kaunihera-a-rohe o Otepoti
Need legal advice? Go to [1]LawVu Legal Advice Request Form
50 The Octagon, Dunedin; P O Box 5045, Moray Place, Dunedin 9058, New
Zealand
Telephone: 03 477 4000; Fax: 03 474 3594
Email: [email address]
[2]cid:image001.png@01CD2A14.1A1FB310
[3]cid:image002.jpg@01CD2A14.1A1FB310[4]cid:image003.jpg@01CD2A14.1A1FB310[5]cid:image004.jpg@01CD2A14.1A1FB310
P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail
This email is confidential and may be legally privileged and is solely for
the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient or have
received this email in error then: do not use this email and any attached
files or disclose the contents to anyone; notify the sender by return
email; and delete this email and all attachments from your system. Thank
you. You must scan this email and any attached files for viruses. Dunedin
City Council accepts no liability for any loss, damage or consequence,
whether caused by our own negligence or not, resulting directly or
indirectly from the receipt of emails from the Dunedin City Council or the
use of any attached files.
From: David Robert Searle
[mailto:[FYI request #7026 email]]
Sent: Thursday, 14 December 2017 5:31 p.m.
To: Official Information
Subject: Official Information request - Building Consent, Producer
Statement, and Code Compliance Certificate for alterations to balconies at
598 Castle St.
Dear Dunedin City Council,
Please send, for the 2016 - 2017 alterations to the balconies at 598
Castle St, Dunedin:
1/ the Building Consent Application with drawings and specifications;
2/ the Building Consent;
3/ the structural engineer's producer statement;
4/ the inspections, names of the inspectors and their notes;
5/ notices to rectify and;
5/ the Code Compliance Certificate.
Yours faithfully,
David Robert Searle
-------------------------------------------------------------------
This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[6][FYI request #7026 email]
Is [7][Dunedin City Council request email] the wrong address for Official
Information requests to Dunedin City Council? If so, please contact us
using this form:
[8]https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
[9]https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers
If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please
ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA
page.
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References
Visible links
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3. http://www.facebook.com/DunedinCityCouncil
4. http://twitter.com/DnCityCouncil
5. http://www.linkedin.com/company/dunedin-...
6. mailto:[FYI request #7026 email]
7. mailto:[Dunedin City Council request email]
8. https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...
9. https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers
From: David Robert Searle
Dear Kristy Rusher,
Thank you for the 'hail fellow well met' call to my mobile phone yesterday, regarding my O.I.A. request.
That the owner of 598 Castle St. has proceeded to make alterations to the balcony, without a building consent, tells me two things:
One; that they know, full well, that the balcony does not comply, despite their having received a Code Compliance Certificate from the Dunedin City Council in November 2003 and in spite of Neil McLeod, Building Services Manager, declaring to Mayor David Cull and Minister of Building and Housing and MBIE, Minister Nick Smith, that the, March the 4th 2016, collapsed balcony complied and that it collapsed because it was overloaded. Consequently Mayor David Cull and Minister Nick Smith repeatedly told the nation that the balcony complied and it collapsed because the partying students overloaded it. No! No! No!
Two; the owner's faith and trust in the Dunedin City Council's Building Control, after the debacle, was such that they did not wish to pay exorbitant fees for incompetent building inspectors.
The result being:
The alterations include a much heavier balustrade on all of the balconies, except the balcony, in it's original construction, supported by 100m x 100mm posts. In my, experienced estimation, those balustrades are exceedingly over weight for the original 140mm x 45mm cantilevered joists, which have not been replaced during this alteration; see clause 7.1.5. Not only that, the new balustrade is a cantilevered balustrade that adds turning points around a fulcrum to the already overloaded cantilevered, 140mm x 45mm joists. That those joists have been shortened, during the alteration, from 1234mm to approximately 900mm, from the outside of the cladding, is no compensation. New Zealand Standard 3604:2011, Table 7.2 specifically rules out 140 x 45** joist size. See the foot note:
"**90 and 140 joist depth is insufficient where cantilevered balustrades are used."
The hole that you are digging yourselves grows deeper and deeper. No amount of 'bon ami', from you to me, is going to help your case. I'm astounded that you could not immediately remember our meeting with Dr. Sue Bidrose on the 8th of December 2017, in the Burn's room at 10:30 a.m. There, I gave you a draft, hard copy of my 102 page report, to Dr. Sue Bidrose and MBIE's Carolyn Tremain, which had some minor errors; i.e. pages 23 and 22 were somehow reversed in your copy. The doctor was given my final, hard copy of that report. Both of you and Carolyn Tremain were sent a digital copy.
Had you read that report you would know that I gave both Dr. Bidrose and Carolyn Tremain twenty working days to respond, a legal requirement. The 11th of of January 2018 was the last day for the doctor and Carolyn Tremain to respond. The caveat to my agreeing not to carrying my banner in the streets, post our agreeing to meet, was that I would continue to do just that if I was not satisfied with the outcome of that meeting. Well, I am not satisfied with the outcome of that meeting, far from it!
My reporting this behaviour of the Dunedin City Council and MBIE, to the ombudsman, loams. I have every right to send it now.
Yours sincerely,
David Robert Searle
Advanced Trade Certificate in Carpentry,
New Zealand Certificate in Building,
Sixty five years experience.
From: Kristy Rusher
Dunedin City Council
Hi David,
Your comments are not an information request. However I respond to your
points below:
a) You have misinterpreted our conversation - I did recall the
meeting but when we spoke it sounded like you were talking about an
additional meeting you wanted to occur in the future and we clarified that
you were actually discussing a past event;
b) I have referred your comments about the structure to our building
team for their consideration;
Regards,
Kristy Rusher
Manager Civic and Legal, Corporate Services
Dunedin City Council/Kaunihera-a-rohe o Otepoti
Need legal advice? Go to [1]LawVu Legal Advice Request Form
50 The Octagon, Dunedin; P O Box 5045, Moray Place, Dunedin 9058, New
Zealand
Telephone: 03 477 4000; Fax: 03 474 3594
Email: [email address]
[2]cid:image001.png@01CD2A14.1A1FB310
[3]cid:image002.jpg@01CD2A14.1A1FB310[4]cid:image003.jpg@01CD2A14.1A1FB310[5]cid:image004.jpg@01CD2A14.1A1FB310
P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail
This email is confidential and may be legally privileged and is solely for
the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient or have
received this email in error then: do not use this email and any attached
files or disclose the contents to anyone; notify the sender by return
email; and delete this email and all attachments from your system. Thank
you. You must scan this email and any attached files for viruses. Dunedin
City Council accepts no liability for any loss, damage or consequence,
whether caused by our own negligence or not, resulting directly or
indirectly from the receipt of emails from the Dunedin City Council or the
use of any attached files.
From: David Robert Searle
[mailto:[FYI request #7026 email]]
Sent: Thursday, 18 January 2018 2:34 p.m.
To: Kristy Rusher
Subject: RE: Official Information request - Building Consent, Producer
Statement, and Code Compliance Certificate for alterations to balconies at
598 Castle St.
Dear Kristy Rusher,
Thank you for the 'hail fellow well met' call to my mobile phone
yesterday, regarding my O.I.A. request.
That the owner of 598 Castle St. has proceeded to make alterations to the
balcony, without a building consent, tells me two things:
One; that they know, full well, that the balcony does not comply, despite
their having received a Code Compliance Certificate from the Dunedin City
Council in November 2003 and in spite of Neil McLeod, Building Services
Manager, declaring to Mayor David Cull and Minister of Building and
Housing and MBIE, Minister Nick Smith, that the, March the 4th 2016,
collapsed balcony complied and that it collapsed because it was
overloaded. Consequently Mayor David Cull and Minister Nick Smith
repeatedly told the nation that the balcony complied and it collapsed
because the partying students overloaded it. No! No! No!
Two; the owner's faith and trust in the Dunedin City Council's Building
Control, after the debacle, was such that they did not wish to pay
exorbitant fees for incompetent building inspectors.
The result being:
The alterations include a much heavier balustrade on all of the balconies,
except the balcony, in it's original construction, supported by 100m x
100mm posts. In my, experienced estimation, those balustrades are
exceedingly over weight for the original 140mm x 45mm cantilevered joists,
which have not been replaced during this alteration; see clause 7.1.5. Not
only that, the new balustrade is a cantilevered balustrade that adds
turning points around a fulcrum to the already overloaded cantilevered,
140mm x 45mm joists. That those joists have been shortened, during the
alteration, from 1234mm to approximately 900mm, from the outside of the
cladding, is no compensation. New Zealand Standard 3604:2011, Table 7.2
specifically rules out 140 x 45** joist size. See the foot note:
"**90 and 140 joist depth is insufficient where cantilevered balustrades
are used."
The hole that you are digging yourselves grows deeper and deeper. No
amount of 'bon ami', from you to me, is going to help your case. I'm
astounded that you could not immediately remember our meeting with Dr. Sue
Bidrose on the 8th of December 2017, in the Burn's room at 10:30 a.m.
There, I gave you a draft, hard copy of my 102 page report, to Dr. Sue
Bidrose and MBIE's Carolyn Tremain, which had some minor errors; i.e.
pages 23 and 22 were somehow reversed in your copy. The doctor was given
my final, hard copy of that report. Both of you and Carolyn Tremain were
sent a digital copy.
Had you read that report you would know that I gave both Dr. Bidrose and
Carolyn Tremain twenty working days to respond, a legal requirement. The
11th of of January 2018 was the last day for the doctor and Carolyn
Tremain to respond. The caveat to my agreeing not to carrying my banner in
the streets, post our agreeing to meet, was that I would continue to do
just that if I was not satisfied with the outcome of that meeting. Well, I
am not satisfied with the outcome of that meeting, far from it!
My reporting this behaviour of the Dunedin City Council and MBIE, to the
ombudsman, loams. I have every right to send it now.
Yours sincerely,
David Robert Searle
Advanced Trade Certificate in Carpentry,
New Zealand Certificate in Building,
Sixty five years experience.
-----Original Message-----
Dear David,
Thank you for your information request where (in summary) you asked for
copies of building consent documentation for building work which has been
carried out at 598 Castle Street.
We do not hold the information that you requested. However, our building
inspectors immediately attended the property and discovered that building
work has recently been carried out which the Council was not aware of.
We are grateful to you for bringing this to our attention. We are now
taking compliance action and working with the building owner to ensure
that the requirements of the Building Act 2004 are met as soon as is
reasonably practicable.
Regards,
Kristy Rusher
Manager Civic and Legal, Corporate Services
Dunedin City Council/Kaunihera-a-rohe o Otepoti
Need legal advice? Go to [1]LawVu Legal Advice Request Form
50 The Octagon, Dunedin; P O Box 5045, Moray Place, Dunedin 9058, New
Zealand
Telephone: 03 477 4000; Fax: 03 474 3594
Email: [email address]
[2][6]cid:image001.png@01CD2A14.1A1FB310
[3][7]cid:image002.jpg@01CD2A14.1A1FB310[4]cid:image003.jpg@01CD2A14.1A1FB310[5]cid:image004.jpg@01CD2A14.1A1FB310
P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail
This email is confidential and may be legally privileged and is solely for
the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient or have
received this email in error then: do not use this email and any attached
files or disclose the contents to anyone; notify the sender by return
email; and delete this email and all attachments from your system. Thank
you. You must scan this email and any attached files for viruses. Dunedin
City Council accepts no liability for any loss, damage or consequence,
whether caused by our own negligence or not, resulting directly or
indirectly from the receipt of emails from the Dunedin City Council or the
use of any attached files.
From: David Robert Searle
[mailto:[FOI #7026 email]]
Sent: Thursday, 14 December 2017 5:31 p.m.
To: Official Information
Subject: Official Information request - Building Consent, Producer
Statement, and Code Compliance Certificate for alterations to balconies at
598 Castle St.
Dear Dunedin City Council,
Please send, for the 2016 - 2017 alterations to the balconies at 598
Castle St, Dunedin:
1/ the Building Consent Application with drawings and specifications;
2/ the Building Consent;
3/ the structural engineer's producer statement;
4/ the inspections, names of the inspectors and their notes;
5/ notices to rectify and;
5/ the Code Compliance Certificate.
Yours faithfully,
David Robert Searle
-------------------------------------------------------------------
This is an Official Information request made via the FYI website.
Please use this email address for all replies to this request:
[6][FOI #7026 email]
Is [7][Dunedin City Council request email] the wrong address for Official
Information requests to Dunedin City Council? If so, please contact us
using this form:
[8][8]https://fyi.org.nz/change_request/new?bo...
Disclaimer: This message and any reply that you make will be published on
the internet. Our privacy and copyright policies:
[9][9]https://fyi.org.nz/help/officers
If you find this service useful as an Official Information officer, please
ask your web manager to link to us from your organisation's OIA or LGOIMA
page.
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hide quoted sections
From: David Robert Searle
Dear Kristy Rusher,
My message was directly relating to my request and not an OIA request as you suggest.
1/ You have a vivid imagination Kristy.
2/ Your reply only encourages derision from me.
3/ I do not expect anything better from your building services.
Yours sincerely,
David Robert Searle
From: David Robert Searle
Dear Oliver,
See below, I have copied and pasted,"things to do with this request". It's clear to me that I have a right to reply to Kristy and to you here. I'll not be bullied by either of you.
Yours sincerely,
David Searle
Advanced Trade Certificate in Carpentry,
New Zealand Certificate in Building,
Sixty five years experience.
Things to do with this request
Anyone:
Add an annotation (to help the requester or others)
Download a zip file of all correspondence
David Robert Searle only:
Write a reply
Update the status of this request
Make a complaint to the Ombudsman
Dunedin City Council only:
Respond to request
Yours sincerely,
David Robert Searle
Things to do with this request
- Add an annotation (to help the requester or others)
- Download a zip file of all correspondence
Offensive? Unsuitable?
This request has been marked for review by the site administrators, who have not hidden it at this time. If you believe it should be hidden, please contact us.
Oliver Lineham (FYI.org.nz volunteer) left an annotation ()
David,
The FYI.org.nz service is only for requesting and receiving official information from public authorities. I'm pleased that you were able to achieve this in the first two messages above. However FYI.org.nz is not the right place for general enquiries, debate or commentary that is not directly a request for official information. For that I suggest contacting them directly, publishing a blog etc. Requests for additional information are best made by starting a new request.
I think it is best to mark this request as "not held" and leave it at that.
Oliver
FYI.org.nz admin
Link to this