Chester Consultants

Development projects are all about location – and surveying gives us the location and topographical information to make real-world designs possible. The Chester Surveying team has extensive experience that enables us to deliver a wide range of land surveying services, including topographic surveys, scheme plans, setout and monitoring of projects, replacement of boundary pegs, and small to large-scale legal survey outputs.

Our Surveying team has provided surveying services throughout the North Island of New Zealand, and more recently, for several large developments in Fiji. The Chester Survey team works alongside our other teams across the civil, structural, planning, and fire disciplines. Having in-house technical knowledge in these closely related fields allows us to rapidly deliver solutions that are tailored to our clients’ needs.

Because the technology, legislation, and technical codes we operate under are rapidly evolving, Chester is committed to ongoing professional development and training of all our staff.

What We Do

• Subdivision Assessment and Feasibility Reports
• Topographic Site Surveys
• Land Transfer Legal Surveys
• Boundary Pegging
• Freehold Subdivisions
• Resource Consent Application Scheme Plans
• Unit Title Developments
• Cross Lease Development
• Building and Construction Setout
• As-built Surveys
• Monitoring – height to boundary surveys and certification
• BMA Leasable area surveys
• Acquisitions under the Public Works Act 1981

Market Sectors

• Residential
• Commercial
• Education / Childcare
• Local Government
• Body Corporates
• Transport /Infrastructure
• Coastal / Special Purpose
• Hotels /Resorts
• Churches and Community

Our specialist understanding of consenting and in-depth knowledge of the development sector helps you avoid missed opportunities, cost overruns, or worst of all – a declined consent.

The Chester Planning team can unlock the development potential of your site and provide a clear consenting path to make your vision a reality.

We strive to understand your project drivers from day one and what a successful outcome looks like to you.

Civil design is all about creating livable, functional, and enjoyable environments for people to live in. The Chester Civil Engineering team has a wealth of experience in land development and infrastructure design that allows ideas to become reality.

From subdividing residential backyards through to designing luxury island resort complexes in the Pacific, we have the in-house technical expertise to make your project a success.

The Chester Civil team delivers a wide range of services within the land development and infrastructure space including earthworks, sediment and erosion control, wastewater, stormwater, flood management/assessments, water supply/firefighting, roading/driveways, contract management, project management and construction monitoring. We have completed projects across many market sectors, including private residential, commercial, industrial, educational, institutional, and government.

Our clients enjoy our commitment to their specific needs, as we build our design methodology around their goals and requirements. We have a culture of communicating clearly with our clients; when you deal with our Civil team, you will be talking to a real person with real experience. If you need help or advice on your project, please contact us.

What We Do

• 3D Civil design
• Earthworks and sediment and erosion control design
• Stormwater design
• Wastewater design
• Water supply design
• Flood risk assessments/management
• Firefighting water supply assessments
• Roading and access way design
• Land development reports
• Infrastructure reports
• Capacity and feasibility reports
• Contract and project management
• Construction monitoring

Market Sectors

• Residential
• Commercial
• Education / Childcare
• Local Government
• Body Corporates
• Transport /Infrastructure
• Coastal / Special Purpose
• Hotels /Resorts
• Churches and Community

Transport infrastructure plays a vital role in successful cities, through enabling access to all the opportunities that cities can provide.Chester is growing a variety of transport infrastructure and civil services, from large-scale projects for Government agencies, through to one-off emergency response repairs to local roads.

Our multi-disciplinary team can manage these projects across every stage, including planning, design, and monitoring.

Stephen Baker leads the Chester Transport team, and brings his experience as NZTA and Beca Project Director to direct multi-disciplinary teams to plan, design and deliver major horizontal infrastructure (roads, rail and watermains) projects for the NZTA, Auckland Transport, Kiwirail and Watercare.

Our Transport team has experience in project management, project governance, procurement, contract management, design management, cost management, construction monitoring and quality assurance surveillance. This combined with our Civil and Structural expertise, enables us to deliver roading and pavement design, stormwater design (including treatment and quality), structural assessments, asset management and condition rating assessments.

Please contact us to talk more about how we can help with your transport project.

What We Do

• Project Governance
• Project Management
• Design Management
• Cost Management
• Contract Management including NZ3910 and NEC3 Contracts
• Procurement
• Strategic Advice
• Construction Monitoring and QA Surveillance
   

Project Advice Including

• Project and Alliance Board Member
• Project Director roles
• Project Designer roles
• Clients Representative
• Engineer to the Contract
• Engineer’s Representative
• Leading Multi-Disciplinary design teams
• Programme Management
• Planning Hearing Evidence

The design of buildings and structures requires a specialised set of skills to make them enduring and functional. We have this expertise in our Chester Structural team, with experience completing projects from private residential buildings all the way up to high-rise commercial buildings.

We can assist with the design of any structures including new or existing buildings, commercial, industrial, residential and group housing projects, alterations (commercial/industrial/residential), retaining walls; foundations and more.

The Chester Structural team has built a strong reputation with our clients for developing structural designs that are elegant and cost-effective. We know that each project comes with its own contextual considerations and we relish the challenge of designing to your specific needs. Our Structural team works closely with other in-house disciplines, meaning that we can efficiently provide complete work packages for clients as a one-stop shop.

Our Structural team also provides inspection and monitoring services, including building survey reports on existing buildings, safety and sanitary reports, Certificate of Acceptance (C of A) applications, and structural supervision.

Contact us to see how we can help with your project.

What We Do

• Structural Analysis and Design
• Initial Seismic Assessments (ISAs)
• Detailed Seismic Assessments (DSAs)
• Seismic Strengthening
• Structural Inspections and Reports
• Construction Monitoring
• Foundation Design
• Retaining Wall Design
• Site Inspections
• Building Survey Reports
• Safety Reports
• Certificate of Acceptance Applications
• Structural Supervision
  ​​​​​​​

Market Sectors

• Residential
• Commercial
• Education / Childcare
• Local Government
• Body Corporates
• Infrastructure
• Coastal / Special Purpose
• Hotels /Resorts
• Churches and Community

Fire Engineering is a specialised technical field that uses design, modelling, and technology to develop safe buildings and structures. Chester has an in-house team of dedicated Fire Engineers with collective experience totalling over 80 years.

Fire Report Types

New Building
All new building construction is required to meet compliance with the following:

• Safeguard people from an unacceptable risk of injury or illness caused by fire,
• Protect other property from damage caused by fire, and
• Facilitate firefighting and rescue operations

When is the report required?
Typically this type of report is required if your development involves the following:

• Terraced Houses
• Apartment
• Warehouses
• Commercial / Retail Developments

If you have any questions about whether a new build fire report is required for your property, please contact us to discuss.

What Chester Provide
Chester’s will undertake an initial preliminary review of any architectural layouts and provide initial comments to raise any non-compliances against NZBC Acceptable Solutions C/AS1-7. Within the fire engineering design report, Chester’s provide recommendations required for compliance.

Chester’s will develop a Fire Engineering Design Report for the purpose of Resource and/or Building Consent Application which assesses the following:

• Building Use
• Occupancy Load Assessment
• Fire Safety Precautions
• Internal Fire Spread
• External Fire Spread – Where applicable
• Fire Service Access

Fire Report - Change of Use
If you are altering an existing building, for change of use you may trigger upgrade provisions for the whole building.
These provisions are in the Building Code and ensure the quality of New Zealand’s building stock improves over time.

Building Code compliance requirements are:

• If the change of use involves incorporating one or more household units into the building where there were none before, the council must be satisfied on reasonable grounds that the building (in its new use) will comply as nearly as is reasonably practicable with the Building Code in all respects.
• For all other cases, the council must be satisfied on reasonable grounds that the building (in its new use) will:
  • comply, as nearly as is reasonably practicable, with every Building Code provision relating to either or both of:
  • means of escape for fire, protection of other property, sanitary facilities, structural performance and fire-rating performance
  • access and facilities for people with disabilities (if this is a requirement under section 118 or the Building Act)
• Continue to comply with other Building Code provisions to at least the same extent as before

When is the report required?
Typically this type of report is required if your development involves the following:

• Converting an Office to an Apartment
• Converting a Warehouse to an Office
• Converting a Commercial Building to a Residential Building

If you have any questions about whether a new build fire report is required for your property, please contact us to discuss.

What Chester provide
Chester’s will undertake a site inspection to assess the following:

• Existing Building Construction
• Means of Egress
• Existing fire safety precautions.

Once the site inspection has been undertaken Chester’s develops a Fire Engineering Design Report for the purpose of Building Consent Application which assesses the following:

• Building Use
• Occupancy Load Assessment
• Fire Safety Precautions
• Internal Fire Spread
• External Fire Spread – Where applicable
• Fire Service Access

Within the fire engineering design report, Chester’s provide recommendations/improvements required for compliance.

Alteration to an Existing Building
All other aspects of the building must continue to comply with the Building Code to at least the same extent as before the alteration.

Councils can allow people to alter their building use without ensuring it complies with the Building Code’s relevant provisions if they are satisfied the alteration:

• will not take place if the building has to comply
• and will improve the means of escape from fire or access and facilities for people with disabilities
• and outweighs (through improvement) any detriment likely to arise from not complying.

When is the report required?
Typically this type of report is required if your development involves the following:

• Building Extension
• Construction of Mezzanine Floor
• Internal Fitout
• Internal portioning e.g. open plan to individual rooms

If you have any questions about whether a new build fire report is required for your property, please contact us to discuss.

What Chester Provide
Chester’s will undertake a site inspection to assess the following:

• Existing Building Construction
• Means of Egress
• Existing fire safety precautions.

Once the site inspection has been undertaken Chester’s develops a Fire Engineering Design Report for the purpose of Building Consent Application which assesses the following:

• Building Use
• Occupancy Load Assessment
• Fire Safety Precautions
• Internal Fire Spread
• External Fire Spread – Where applicable
• Fire Service Access

Within the fire engineering design report, Chester’s provide recommendations/improvements required for compliance.

Subdivision of an Existing Building
A territorial authority must not issue a certificate under section 224(f) of the Resource Management Act 1991 for the purpose of giving effect to a subdivision affecting a building or part of a building unless satisfied, on reasonable grounds, that the building:

• Will comply, as nearly as is reasonably practicable, with every provision of the building code that relates to the following matters:
• means of escape from fire
• access and facilities for persons with disabilities (if this is a requirement under section 118):
• protection of other property; 
• if it complied with the other provisions of the building code immediately before the application for a subdivision was made, continue to comply with those provisions; or
• if it did not comply with the other provisions of the building code immediately before the application for a subdivision was made, continue to comply at least to the same extent as it did then comply

When is the report required?
Typically this type of report is required if your development involves the following:

• Residential Unit Subdivision
• Commercial Unit Subdivision

If you have any questions about whether a new build fire report is required for your property, please contact us to discuss.

What Chester Provide
Within the fire engineering design report, Chester’s provide recommendations/improvements required for compliance. Chester’s will undertake a site inspection to assess the following:

• Existing Building Construction
• Means of Egress
• Existing fire safety precautions.

Once the site inspection has been undertaken Chester’s develops a Fire Engineering Design Report for the purpose of Building Consent Application which assesses the following:

• Building Use
• Occupancy Load Assessment
• Fire Safety Precautions
• Internal Fire Spread
• External Fire Spread – Where applicable
• Fire Service Access

Evacuation Schemes
Buildings which are used for certain activities are required under the Fire and Emergency New Zealand Act 2017 and the FENZ Regulations 2018 to implement a detailed Evacuation Scheme which is required to be issued to Fire & Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) for approval.

When is the report required?
Typically this type of report is required if your development involves the following:

• Buildings that can hold 100 or more people.
• Buildings where 10 or more people work.
• Buildings where 6 or more people sleep, unless there are 3 or fewer households.
• Buildings storing certain levels of hazardous substances.
• Buildings used for early childhood, medical, and disabled care services, unless the building is a normal home.
• Prisons and holding cells.

If you have any questions about whether an evacuation scheme is required for your property, please contact us to discuss it.

The evacuation scheme is required to be submitted to Fire and Emergency New Zealand for approval prior to, but no more than 30 days prior to, the occupation of a new building or of an existing building being used as a relevant building.

What Chester Provide
Chesters can develop and assist in uploading the evacuation scheme to FENZ for approval and manage the ongoing update of the scheme.

We can also provide the report on a quick turnaround to work within your requirements so give us a call today.

We can manage your land development project from start to finish. With our team of specialists and wider partnerships in the industry, we can coordinate your project for you, from concept design, right through to final sign-off.

We have an in-house team of surveyors; planners; and engineers working in the fields of Civil (Environmental, Infrastructure and Land Development), Fire, Structural and Transportation. This helps the coordination of your project and reduces the number of people that you have to deal with. We are comfortable in helping you manage your project no matter which stage of development you are at.

We work with trusted partnerships throughout the development landscape. From other professional consultant services, such as architects and geotechnical engineers, through to contractors, we can help coordinate and facilitate your development to ensure that you get everything that you require.