20 years ago:
• One of New Zealand’s most sought-after blocks of land was to become the new headquarters of Clear Communications.
The company was planning to build its $17 million operations centre on Smale’s Farm, a 12.5ha block located next to the Northern Motorway in Takapuna, Auckland.
The proposal included office blocks with a six-storey height restriction, a hotel and a new bus station.
Construction was expected to get underway by the end of 1996.
15 years ago:
• Members of the Waikato Registered Master Builders Association donated product, expertise and time to erect dens for a couple of newly-arrived cheetahs at Hamilton Zoo.
Temba and Mwandi were the latest couple to shift house to the zoo. These slinky, spotted cats were endangered, and genetic diversity was limited. Evidence indicated they almost became extinct, but struggled back to a larger population.
Hamilton Zoo was playing its part in a worldwide programme to improve cheetah genetic diversity by selective breeding. Hamilton builders and contractors helped enormously in the development of stage one of the cheetahs’ enclosure.
As well as the work done by Waikato RMBA members, New Zealand Contractors Federation members cleared the site, dug trenches around the perimeter, and put in solid rock so the animals could not dig under the perimeter fence.
10 years ago:
• Public submissions during the Building Code review revealed a strong push from New Zealanders for quality, energy-efficient buildings that lasted for generations, according to Building Issues Minister Clayton Cosgrove.
He said the feedback showed the public shared the Government’s concerns over factors such as climate change and the need for sustainable development.
Many submissions wanted the new Code to ensure buildings were designed and constructed strongly enough to cope with the rigours of climate and weather change patterns.
Mr Cosgrove said some submissions wanted to see accessibility issues given more prominence, such as guidelines to encourage use of lever handles on taps, and ease of mobility in and around buildings for an aging population.
Submitters also indicated support for fire safety improvements in homes. There was also a view among submitters that the Building Code should fit better with other laws, particularly the Resource Management Act.
5 years ago:
• Tradespeople who had not yet registered with the Government’s licensing scheme were urged to do so as from March 1, 2012, they could find themselves caught short.
Department of Building and Housing deputy chief executive Anne Geddes said the Department was expecting a rush of applications early in 2012.
Ten thousand tradespeople had already been licensed, with the Department aiming to license another 7000 by March 1, 2012, the date when the Licensed Building Practitioners scheme came fully into effect.
