A new year brings the Municipality of Port Hope a new arrangement for plumbing-inspection responsibilities, as the municipality assumes these services from the County of Northumberland.
This new set-up allows for plumbing permits to be issued directly by the municipality and authorizes Municipal Building Services Division staff to review plans and perform inspections for all plumbing in new buildings, building renovations and property additions within the municipality as of Jan. 1.
Director of Fire and Emergency Services C. Ryan Edgar – who is also responsible for the Building Services Division – commented on the move in the municipality's press release.
“After a thorough review of the services being offered to our property owners in the municipality, it was recommended that the service provided by the County of Northumberland would be managed internally by our municipal staff,” Edgar stated.
“We would like to thank the staff from the county for their efforts over the past two decades in the area of plumbing inspections. We listened to comments from property owners and developers in our municipality who requested that our building officials begin looking after plumbing inspections, from plans review to final inspections, and received support from municipal council to bring this additional level of service back to our Development Team Office.”
This new level of service to the Port Hope community brings a change from the previous county-based plumbing agreement, as well as the opportunity for permits to be both issued and inspected directly from the Building Division (located at 5 Mill St. S.).
A permit is the legal document required for anyone to develop property, the press release added. Those requiring a permit are reminded to obtain the requisite documents before commencing any project – work commenced without a permit can result in the uncovering or exposing of completed work, higher permitting costs and possible legal action.
Property owners and developers within the municipality who had previously obtained a permit for work not yet started (or not yet completed) are advised to contact the municipality to arrange for an inspection when required. All active permits within the municipality have been transferred over to the Development Team Office for follow-up and completion.
For more information, please contact the Development Team Office at 905-885-2431 or visit porthope.ca.
