Building codes, approvals crucial for home construction

Building codes are crucial in ensuring homes are safe from structural failures, fire hazards and health risks and approvals are needed before starting construction. Such approvals provide a permanent record of works done and inspection conducted on a project.

So advised Clarence Jacob, Secretary of Settlements, Urban Renewal and Public Utilities, as the Trinidad and Tobago Contractors Association (TTCA) hosted a third session on Statutory Approvals for Building Projects for Tobagonians last Thursday.

The session, held in collaboration with the Division of Infrastructure, took place last Thursday at the Lecture Room of the Division at Shaw Park.

The seminar was intended to bring awareness to persons involved in the construction industry and the general public on the importance of building codes and regulations.

Ramlogan Roopnarinesingh, President of the TT Contractors Association, speaking at the event, said the aim of the session was to give insight on statutory approvals needed for construction.

"We have this thing in Tobago where we going to build and we start to build one time. This (seminar) is important in that the general public needs to know what is going on.

“We have noticed that over time people put up structures and you wondering how it is that people put up these structures and then they don't want to break it down,” he noted.

Jacob advised that building development approvals were required before starting construction on most types of domestic buildings to establish minimum necessary requirements for safety, health amenity, sustainability in the design and construction of new buildings and also for new work on existing buildings.

Infrastructure Secretary Kwesi Des Vignes, said the Division plays a critical role in the approval process and one of the projects initiated this year was the convening of an infrastructure committee with a sub-committee for statutory approvals.

"We want to create a clearing house where the main players sit around the same table so that the approval process becomes a lot easier because we want to encourage people not to shirk the law.

“We have the challenge at the Division of Infrastructure of cleaning up after a lot of messes are made and it cost taxpayers quite a lot because any money spent remedying the errors of some persons could be spent developing other areas for the citizens," Des Vignes said.

Feature speaker at the session, Development Consultant Sheryl-Anne Haynes, spoke on regulations in planning and the related agencies.

She noted the Town and Country Planning Act defines the development, function of the Minister responsible for Town and Country Planning, the function and jurisdiction of the land planning agency, and an advisory town planning panel.