Building surveyor and engineer accreditation under investigation as part of McGill Rise subdivision probe

The accreditation of the building surveyor and engineer is under investigation as part of the McGill Rise subdivision probe, as the Glenorchy City Council’s general manager explains how the whole situation unfolded. LATEST >>

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THE accreditation of the building surveyor and engineer at the centre of a Claremont subdivision whose residents had to be vacated for their safety is being investigated, as the council explains how the whole situation unfolded.

Last week, the Mercury revealed eight out of 22 homes in the McGill Rise development were vacated when Glenorchy City Council said an audit deemed them uninhabitable, with the potential for heavy rains to collapse embankments and potentially harm or kill residents.

Council general manager Tony McMullen said the subdivision, by Aviation Consolidated Holdings Pty Ltd, was approved in 2012.

Mr McMullen said a geotechnical report provided by an engineering geologist said the risk for landslip was “very low or minor.”

“The developer was then required to provide engineering drawings which design the roads, stormwater and sewage systems and that was fine,” he said.

“The issue has arisen where the developer has gone in and created building platforms – fill works on the steep land – without approval. We took action early in the piece to put an order on them for unauthorised works at the time.”

Mr McMullen said there was a misconception the council ran the building approval process, but that had been privatised since 2004.

Glenorchy City Council general manager Tony McMullen.

“It is the private building surveyors role to make sure the designs are compliant with the national building code and carry out inspections during the construction process,” he said.

“Council’s role is reliant upon documentation that is submitted by the building surveyor. Our job is not to second guess what is provided to us – it’s to ensure we get the documentation and issue the permits based on the assessment carried out by the private building surveyor.”

Mr McMullen said the council did not believe the building surveyor in this case had adequately addressed the national construction code requirements for the fill works.

“We raised those concerns with the building surveyor and [state government body] Consumer, Building and Occupational Services and this has led to CBOS looking into the accreditation of the building surveyor and the engineer,” he said.

Investigations into what rectification works will be required are ongoing.

Aviation Consolidated Holdings directors have not responded to requests for comment.