Wellington City Council’s Chief Planning Officer, Liam Hodgetts, says two staff members will head to Auckland today following a request from Auckland Council and two more will travel north next week. The inspectors are trained to carry out rapid building assessments.
“We are more than willing to send staff to Auckland – the city has been struck very hard – and we know Auckland would help us out if Wellington was hit by a similar major emergency.”
Mr Hodgetts says the Council is re-prioritising existing inspection schedules in Wellington to minimise delays for builders waiting for routine inspections. “We hope our clients will be patient if some inspections are delayed by a few days – we think it’s essential that we play our part in helping Auckland.”
Wellington City Council is liaising with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the Wellington Regional Emergency Management Officer (WREMO) and other agencies and may send further staff to Auckland if requested.