Gympie’s December building approvals hit 5-year high

Gympie’s pandemic resilience has continued to show, with the region recording more than 100 building approvals in the final month of 2020.

Gympie Regional Council revealed on Tuesday that 127 approvals were issued in December, with 19 of those for roof repairs.

With re-roofing out of the equation, the 108 approvals was the highest December result in five years.

These included 38 new dwellings and one removal.

In comparison 72 approvals were issued in December 2019, including 15 new houses and 12 for new roofs.

Ninety-one of the December 2020 approvals were issued by private certifiers.

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And while the 1812 total approvals for the year is well below the 3765 recorded in 2019, that year’s number was significantly inflated by damage caused by severe weather; there were 3740 re-roof approvals granted between October 2018 and December 2020.

“Given that we are still in a COVID economy; these statistics are very encouraging,” Councillor Shane Waldock said.

“Our region is showing typical resilience in a tough time.

“Increased building activity is a good thing for our region, our local economy and our residents.”