DCLG and information from the checks will be available to DCLG from BRE. Remedial action would be the responsibility of the owner of the building. The DCLG website explains how to identify the cladding and how to access the testing facilities including a form to be returned with samples and an email address for enquiries.
Building activity Total building activity fell in both volume and value terms in the March 2017 quarter, compared with the December 2016 quarter. For the March 2017 quarter compared with the December 2016 quarter, in seasonally adjusted volume terms: • residential building activity fell 0.8 percent • non-residential building activity fell 7.2 percent • all building activity fell 3.5 percent. The volatile non-residential building work series led the volume fall, decreasing a seasonally adjusted 7.2 percent, while residential building work decreased 0.8 percent. "Building activity adjusted for price changes fell for the first time in two years, due to a decrease in commercial and other non-residential building work this quarter," said Jason Attewell, Senior Manager International and Business Performance at Statistics New Zealand. "Building work has been at historically high levels since late 2015." The seasonally adjusted value of all building activity fell 2.2 percent, following a 3.0 percent rise in the December 2016 quarter. "When not adjusted for inflation, building activity fell for the first time in five years." The volume trend for all building work has declined, but is still 68 percent higher than a low point in the September 2011 quarter. It is also 15 percent higher than the earlier series peak in the June 2005 quarter. The volume trend series began in the December 1989 quarter, so does not include the 1970s residential building boom.Building consents for new homes fell in April, partly due to the timing of Easter, Stats NZ said today. The seasonally adjusted number of new homes consented fell 7.6 percent in April 2017 compared with March, mainly because of Easter, which occurred in April this year. This fall followed a 1.2 percent fall in March, and a 15 percent rise in February. “Councils don’t usually issue building consents on public holidays, so the timing of Easter drove a fall in April’s building consents,” Business Indicators Senior Manager at Statistics new Zealand Neil Kelly said. A total of 2,106 new homes were consented in April 2017, compared with 2,361 in April 2016. “On an annual basis, home consents have reached a 12-year high this year, with more than 30,000 new homes being consented per year,” Mr Kelly said. In the year ended April 2017, 30,371 new homes were consented – up 8.3 percent from the previous 12 months, and the most for an April year since 2004. Despite all the talk of affordability, QV New Zealand reports that Kiwis still prefer their assets in property form. QV says the value of residential property continues to grow beyond one trillion dollars, dwarfing the value of other asset classes, with residential mortgages secured against 23% of this value.