Hume’s building boom has reached new highs, after the combined value of permits issued reached $1 billion for the first time in one year.
Data from the Victorian Building Authority (VBA) shows, in 2015-16, building permits valued at $1.1 billion were issued in the city – up from $707 million the previous financial year.
Helping to put the municipality in the VBA’s ‘billion dollar club’ was a $73 million building permit for a laboratory and office building and associated works at Mickleham, plus a $36 million extension to a Broadmeadows pharmaceutical production facility.
A permit for a community centre at Craigieburn, valued at $35 million, and an office and industrial building at Mickleham, valued at $34 million, were also issued, while domestic building permits accounted for $658 million – up from $568 million in 2014-15.
Hume had the seventh highest value of building permits in the state, behind Melbourne, where permits valued at $4.1 billion were issued last financial year.
Building permits valued at $951 million were issued in Whittlesea in 2015-16, down from $1.13 billion in 2014-15.
Hume council spokeswoman Sintiya Khananishoo said 3352 building permits were issued in Hume in 2015-16. She said 3044 were for domestic building work, while 308 were for commercial jobs, valued at $431 million.
VBA chief executive Prue Digby said the reported cost of building works in Hume reflected the building boom across the state.
Statewide, $31.5 billion of building permits were issued in the past financial year.
“The value is 12.3 per cent higher than the record $28 billion set in the 2104-15 financial year,” Ms Digby said. “The number of building permits statewide also rose 4.4 per cent to 110,069, which is the second highest number on record after the 113,669 reported in 2009-10.”
