New sections in need of more tradies

Gore may be heading for a building boom but there is concern at a lack of tradies in the district to do the work.

In recent months the Gore District Council has had an influx of resource consent applications to subdivide land.

There are currently consents being considered that will create 22 new sections in the district if they are all approved.

A further 10 lots were approved by the council between November 2018 and February 2019.

Council regulatory and planning manager Ian Davidson-Watt said there had been an uplift in activity in consents, which he said was good to see.

‘‘Everyone is pessimistic about growth in the regions but I really do feel there’s going to an upswing in growth in the south.

‘‘We are getting a mix of people coming here, including people that are retiring here instead of Queenstown because it is close enough to be able to enjoy all the benefits of what that region has to offer but it is still affordable.’’

There had not been a subsequent rise in building consents yet, Davidson-Watt said.

‘‘One of the big challenges we have as a district is attracting the tradies to actually do the work, from the architects to the builders to the painters.

‘‘All the ones we have here take great care in doing their work but they are all booked up in advance and it is very hard to get someone – my understanding is that there is at least a two- or three-month delay, if not more.’’

He said the lack of workers in the building sector had been identified by the council’s Ready For Growth programme, which had identified the capacity issue in the industry and was looking at how to attract people to the region as part of a bigger project.

Registered Master Builders national vice-president Kerry Archer, of Invercargill, said there was a shortage of builders in Gore but that was a problem all over Southland.

‘‘A lot of it is coming down to councils holding things up too.’’

Clients were waiting three to six months to get a builder on site, he said.