BuildLaw Issue 35 April 2019 | Page 5

houses built in Tauranga around the same time as the Bella Vista development (2015–2018). MBIE considers the extent of the Council’s failure to be an isolated incident with a unique set of circumstances.
Key findings from the review include:
• the Council did not follow its documented building control processes and procedures for the Bella Vista development;
• record keeping and reasons for decisions were not well documented;
• sequencing of construction works were not performed well on what was a geographically and geotechnically complex site;
• there was a lack of enforcement action by the Council to either stop non-compliant building work or require non-compliant building work to be fixed; and
• the Council did not follow protocol when managing variations to the issued building consents.
As a result of this review, the Council must provide MBIE with revised building control policies and procedures within two months of receiving the review report, and a progress update within the next 12 months. MBIE will also undertake a follow-up visit to the Council in the next six months.
As part of the review, MBIE also consulted with the appointed building consent accreditation body (International Accreditation New Zealand) and the Ministry for the Environment regarding its findings and areas for future improvement.
MBIE recommends all Building Consent Authority staff read the report to better understand the reasons for the failure.
Read MBIE's Review of Tauranga City Council here











Company fined after worker fatally injured by steel beam
On 11 April 2019 a structural steelwork company was fined $250,000 after a heavy steel beam fatally injured a worker.
Pegasus Engineering Limited was sentenced at the Christchurch District Court yesterday following the fatal incident in June 2017 in Rolleston.
In the incident a worker was moving steel beams from work trolleys using a crane. A beam destabilised, causing it to tip and fall toward the worker. The beam struck the worker across their left arm, the side of their torso, their neck and their head, causing fatal injuries.
A WorkSafe investigation found Pegasus Engineering Limited did not carry out an effective risk assessment, and Pegasus did not consider there was a substantial risk of the beams falling over. It did not provide workers with clamps to