Victorian Building Commission figures show that Hepburn Shire Council’s ‘in house’ building services are among the most popular in the State.
Covering 1,470 square kilometres in Central Victoria, the Shire has a population of 15,000 and is experiencing a healthy growth rate of five per cent per annum.
Building Commission figures show that the Shire’s building services bucked the trend that has seen a large growth in the number of private building surveyors being engaged to oversee domestic building works.
In June and July 2009, 64 per cent of building permits issued in the Shire of Hepburn were through Council’s building surveyors, compared with an average of 17 per cent for council issued permits across Victoria in the second quarter of the year.
Hepburn Shire Mayor, Bill McClenaghan, said building services is the only Council service where people can go to open market.
“These figures clearly show that people building and renovating in the Shire are choosing to use our municipal service over private enterprise,” Councillor McClenaghan said. “This is a great indication of the superior service and customer focus of our building services area.
“The figures are also a great reflection on our Building Surveyor, Craig Fletcher, and Building Inspector Paul White and the consistent high level of service they provide.”
Craig Fletcher said it was pleasing to see the figures acknowledge the Shire’s professional approach to its building services.
“The many years of experience and the local knowledge of Council’s staff are key aspects of why we can provide such a well regarded service,” he said.
Building Commission figures for Victoria in the second quarter of 2009 showed that private building surveyors issued a total of 20,680 building permits, compared with 4,260 by council building surveyors.
