The Mayor and City Council (M&CC) is concerned about the number of contractors who continue to flout the building by-laws and urges them to comply with the law.
According to a press release, the M&CC said the requirements for new buildings, additions and or alterations to existing ones are as follows: two copies of the plan, a copy of the transport and/or document of authority, and a copy of the rates and taxes receipt, verifying payment for previous years. The building application form obtained from the City Engineer’s Department must also be completed.
The procedure entails submitting a plan/application to the M&CC and collecting a number, submitting the plans and collecting a slip to make payments to the City Treasurer’s Office. The plans are then sent to the Medical Officer at the Health and Sewerage Department for processing and returned to the applicant after processing. Plans are then sent to the building inspector for a site inspection and those that are in order are then sent to the City Engineer for approval or to be forwarded to the Central Housing and Planning Authority for final processing.
The M&CC said the processing time at both agencies takes a total of about four months. It also noted that carrying out building works without the permission of the City Engineer contravenes the law.
