Chatsworth is seeing an uptick in its building activity over the last three months compared to 2023.
Council reviewed its building permit statistics during its meeting on Dec. 18, which details the number of permits issued for residential, agriculture, commercial, institutional, and industrial builds over the last few years.
During the third quarter this year, the municipality issued 45 permits compared to the 38 in 2023.
Eleven of the permits issued during the third quarter were for new agricultural buildings and three for new homes.
Chief Building Official Karl Schipprack says the statistics for the third quarter are all up from 2023, with a growth of 18 per cent in the number of permits issued, 36 per cent increase in project value, and 106 percent in permit revenue, reaching $43,627.
Year-to-date, however, the municipality is falling behind 2023. The municipality had so far issued 103 permits compared to the 125 in 2023, with only eight new home permits being issued versus the 19 last year.
Project value is also down 20 per cent, but permit revenue is up slightly by three per cent over 2023.
“The high interest rates and economy slowdown have affected the construction industry in 2024. As the interest rates go down, we will see a correlation in building permit applications go up. We have already started to see this in the third quarter stats. The remainder of 2024 will be steady and we should see additional growth in 2025,” says Schipprack.