15 Jul 2013

Winder to lead building consents inquiry

6:34 pm on 15 July 2013

A former chief executive of Local Government New Zealand has been appointed to lead an independent investigation into the Christchurch City Council's handling of its building consents.

A council spokesperson says Peter Winder was appointed following a council meeting on Monday morning. He is expected to produce a report that will be delivered in mid-August.

The spokesperson says the investigation is expected to cost between $40,000 and $50,000.

It will look into alleged failures of council chief executive Tony Marryatt to keep mayor Bob Parker and councillors appropriately informed and to manage the consenting department and processes.

That led to the loss of its building consent accreditation on 8 July this year, which was followed by a loss of insurance cover, a credit downgrade and the appointment of Crown manager Doug Martin.

Tony Marryatt remains on leave.

Meanwhile, the Crown manager began supervising the building consents department on Monday.

Doug Martin says his speciality is performance improvement and believes he can get the department up to scratch.

He says he has experience the role requires, including knowledge of local government and the construction sector, and will remain in charge until December 2014.