The New Zealand Government is making housing a top priority, vocalising extensive plans to address homelessness, build high-quality, affordable housing throughout the coming decade, and ensure every New Zealander can live in a warm, dry home.
This is great news for much of the population, as cheap, plentiful housing options throughout the country would be a relief to many after years of high nationwide property prices. For anyone involved in housing development, however, the increased scrutiny on resident well-being and construction quality presents a new set of obstacles to navigate.
Accuracy has always been key to processing housing plans quickly. We’re fortunate in that our team is both diverse in their expertise, and continually looking to refine and improve their approach to what they do best. Over the years, we’ve developed our four-stage checking process to help minimise the amount of RFIs (Request for Information) when seeking consent from council.
Part of why this is so important in New Zealand is due to a lack of universally agreed-upon standards for housing quality, an issue recently raised by Stats NZ. In October, it was announced that public feedback would be sought on a proposed housing-quality conceptual framework, co-designed by Stats NZ, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), and the Building Research Association of New Zealand (BRANZ).
“There’s currently no agreed definition of housing quality nationally or internationally,” Stats NZ Systems and Partnerships General Manager, Rachael Milicich, said.
“With this framework we’re aiming to capture an agreed way of thinking about housing quality, with all its different aspects and dimensions. It’s important to note that we’re looking at housing in relation to people – our communities and whānau – as well as physical structures.”
The four areas of the framework – housing habitability; housing functionality; environmental sustainability; and social and cultural sustainability – will provide a guide for developing quality housing, which is similar to our multi-team approach on each project.
While a framework will offer an easier area to work within for many developers, the experience of working with local councils and in various parts of the country is an invaluable guide during the development-approval process.
The size of our firm means we consistently deliver on quantity with large-scale housing developments, and our commitment to high-quality work is supported by our entire team.
Focusing on what we love to do, and do well, means our extended team share the same interest and uniform approach – you’ll see this in the consistency of our plan design and approval process.
A large part of this is informed by experience, and another by the varied experience we’ve gained working in different parts of the country. New Zealand has hundreds of towns where local councils, neighbours, land formation and other factors can be slightly unique or require a different approach. Through our large network and focused team, we look to always provide the same level of service relevant to the area we’re working in.
Staying on top of local council requirements, and adhering to new standards and expectations for buildings across New Zealand, we always deliver exceptional quality no matter the project. By always looking to improve our service, we also stay ahead of our mistakes.
Leveraging this experience and providing an unrivalled service is why our clients love to work with our team, who work with councils across the country on a daily basis, getting housing developments off the ground while navigating new regulations.
At ASAP Plans. we take care of all council documentation and supporting information, and deal with any issues that may arise. Our architectural design services and experience with past housing approvals allows our clients to work with more than 200 unique designs.