Discounts offered on burner fees

The Invercargill City Council is offering some residents a discount on building consent application fees to upgrade the burner in their home.

Environment Southland estimates about 2000 Invercargill home owners will not be able to use their home burners after January 1.

Under Environment Southland’s Regional Air Plan, burners (log burners) installed before January 1, 1997, in homes inside the Invercargill airshed were unable to be used next winter, in a bid to improve the city’s air quality.

A city council spokesperson said the council had provided a discount on the consent fee for those within the airshed to encourage people to upgrade their heating source and to be compliant with the Air Plan.

Within the Invercargill airshed, the consent fee for a new heating appliance is $200. Outside of the airshed, it is $284.85.

The council has had an increase in consent applications for heating appliances, from 299 in 2017 up to 391 in 2018.

The council also offered low interest Clean Air Loans for a three to five-year period. Applicants are assessed based on their rates payment history and credit scores, and a credit check is undertaken.

Credit checks are required by law under the Responsible Lending Code.

Despite the looming deadline for burners to be upgraded, the council has not seen an increase in applications for Clean Air Loans.

In fact, the rate of applications during the past 12 months has slowed down slightly.