WELLINGTON NORTH – The building department in Wellington North issued nearly one building permit per day last year.
The numbers, councillor Lisa Hern said in response to a building permit report presented to council on Jan. 24, were”out of this world.”
In December, 15 permits were issued, closing out the year with 364 total building permits issued, generating around $2 million in development charges and $619,157 in permit fees.
According to the report from chief building official Darren Jones, last year’s construction volume was above a 10-year average of nine builds per month and 250 builds in a year.
Mayor Andy Lennox called the numbers a “significant” increase over years past.
“I think this is just the beginning of what’s to come,” he said, citing the number of development applications being received by the township.
“Growth is coming to many rural communities .. it seems that there’s a lot of people [that want to] live in a more rural, small-town atmosphere as opposed to the larger urban centres,” Lennox added, noting the township would be challenged with growing pains.
According to data provided to the Advertiser by Jones, of the 364 total building permits issued, all were used.
The following is a breakdown of permits issued by type:
- 58 single family dwelling permits;
- 30 multi-family dwelling (semi-detached, duplex, town-house, apartment) permits (*permits do not reflect number of dwelling units created);
- 33 residential renovations/additions;
- 41 sheds and garages;
- 34 decks or pool enclosures;
- 22 commercial building permits;
- six assembly occupancy building permits;
- 17 industrial building permits;
- six institutional building permits;
- 65 agricultural permits;
- 36 septic systems; and
- 16 demolition permits.
