Building consent applications in the Mackenzie District between January and August 2019 have increased in number by 14 per cent and in value by more than 50 per cent on the same period last year.

According to a report tabled at a Mackenzie District Council planning and regulations meeting on Tuesday, "this reflects the growth in commercial activity, more complex residential construction, and an increase in construction costs".

Since January 2018, the number of consents received in a single month peaked at 51 in July 2019 with a total consent value of over $14,000,000.

The number of consents are expected to continue to rise towards the end of the year with people trying to get consents approved before Christmas, the report says.

At the meeting, councillor Stuart Barwood asked what percentage of the consents were commercial and private, and how much of the private work was related to Airbnb, but regulatory manager Jan Spriggs explained this data was not available.

"We have to do that manually which is a time consuming process, [but] that is something I would like to do in the future," Spriggs said.

"Also, we have to base it on what we get told as part of the consent and I'm not sure we are always told the truth."

While the number of inspections remained similar to 2018, Spriggs explained this was likely due to a lag of four to six months and the increase in applications would be reflected in the inspection numbers in the coming months.

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