By NOEL MURPHY
CITY Hall might claim it has cut the red tape of building permits but a key building industry figure says millions of investment dollars are on hold because applications remain in limbo.
“Are the literally millions of dollars in approved bank loans and financing for building works not enough to get someone down in City Hall excited enough to propose some department adjustments?” said Pat Sgro, of Geelong West industry supplier Tile Junket.
“With real couples trying to live real lives, living arrangements that were originally temporary have been over-stayed, builders have had to delay start dates over and over again.
“Plumbers, electricians, concreters, plasterers, tilers and carpet layers are wondering why they can’t seem to get constant steady work.
“Product selections are no longer available and the people who’re longing for the build of the home, the people who are actually paying money, are so completely over it and at their wits end – but why?
“How is it possible that a few offices here in Geelong have the ability to have so many hopeful home builders/renovators stuck just simply waiting?
“Waiting on the banks? No.
“Waiting on the real estate market? No.
“Waiting on planning departments? Yes.”
Mr Sgro said the delays were having a “domino effect on local small business” due to a “comparative handful of people in a few offices”.
“The bottleneck in Geelong city council’s planning permits and building permits departments are a literal throttle on the local community’s entire domestic building industry.
“For totally unknown reasons, it seems that once all the red tape has been skilfully manoeuvred and previously unseen hurdles have been bound over the permit is complete – and travels – and lands softly in the in-tray of…who exactly?
“It lands with an unknown entity called permits and in this invisible world of magic, spells, dark lords and wizardry somehow within three weeks to 15 months it pops out the other end with the stamp of approval.”
City Hall had not responded to the Independent’s call for comment before the paper went to press but has previously credited its new VicSmart system with speeding up the permit process, purportedly streamlining it for straightforward planning applications.
Classes of applications are identified in the planning scheme as being VicSmart and have specified requirements for information, assessment processes and decision guidelines.
Key features include a 10-day permit process, no requirement to advertise applications and predetermined information for applicants to submit.
