06:05 am, Monday 29 June, 2009

A builder has been fined $10,000 after he made Unsafe Alterations to a double-storey house in Williamstown.

The builder pleaded guilty to failing to obtain a planning permit, working without a building permit and failing to stop work.

Hobsons Bay City Council issued an order to the builder to stop work, after it discovered that he had made significant alterations to the house without building permits.

Further inspections revealed that the owner was proceeding with building work despite the order.

Hobsons Bay mayor Peter Hemphill said the works were particularly dangerous.

“The ground floor walls that supported the upper floor had been removed and the second storey walls that supported roof loads and provided the house’s wind bracing had also been removed,” he said. “The external brickwork and support beams in the garage were also removed. It was very lucky that no one was seriously injured or killed.”

The builder will pay $2492 to the council. The magistrate described the renovations as one of the worst cases she had presided over.

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