A new farmers’ market at Hobbs Wharf is now open to the public thanks to the cooperation between Rodney District Council and the market owners.
Located on the Country Club side of the Gulf Harbour Marina, the market was constructed and completed two weeks after a building consent was lodged.
“We were absolutely thrilled with the service we received from the Council,” says Michael Webb-Speight, who was responsible for the creation of the market.
“Whilst we have been planning the markets for a long time, site constraints meant we had a very small window of time to complete the design and gain a building consent. Council worked closely with MPM Projects and Stanley Construction to streamline the process. To have the building completed just two weeks after we applied for a consent was amazing,” Mr Webb-Speight adds.
Stanley Construction was able to supply fully detailed design plans to Council which reduced the amount of time needed to process the application. Alan McColl, Building Consent Operation Manager, acted as the internal ‘case manager’ for the application and as a point of contact for the developers. As a result of this, a building consent was able to be issued within seven days of the application being received.
“Council had to be satisfied that requirements relating to structural soundness, fire safety, facilities for the disabled and vehicle access would be met before the consent could be issued, “ Alan McColl explains.
Once the consent was granted, the Stanley Construction team worked at speed to assemble the modular two-level structure, and five days later the building was ready to be inspected by Council staff. Inspections were completed the following day and the building was opened five days later.
The market is clearly going to be a popular attraction for local residents. It is estimated that around 2,000 people visited the market at its opening on Sunday November 16.
The market operates on Sundays from 8.30am – 12.30pm and sells fresh local produce. Over 35 stalls currently operate at the site and the range of products on sale is expected to expand in the future with new stalls to be added over the next few weeks.
Changes to Rodney District Council’s consent process are being developed, which are expected to provide a more user friendly, efficient system from December onwards.