The sounds of construction are reverberating across the North Okanagan’s rural areas.
Statistics show there were 31 building permits issued for the five electoral areas, Enderby and Spallumcheen in August compared to 29 during the same month in 2015. Year-to-date, there have been 215 permits while there were 256 during the first eight months of 2015.
“Activity is running on par with last year or a little bit ahead in some cases,” said Bob Fleming, Electoral Area Advisory Committee chairperson.
Of the 215 permits, there have been 46 residential units created with a building value of $27.4 million.
It should be pointed out that the 2015 data included Lumby and Armstrong, which the Regional District of North Okanagan no longer issues permits for.
The electoral area with the most activity is rural Enderby, which has had 59 building permits issued so far this year. That has included 22 single-family dwellings and 19 accessory buildings.
Next is BX-Swan Lake with 32 permits between January and August, including 12 single-family dwellings and seven accessory structures.
Year-to-date, there have been 31 permits in BX-Silver Star, 28 in rural Lumby and six in Cherryville.
In terms of the municipalities, there have been 10 permits so far for Enderby and 49 for Spallumcheen. Spallumcheen’s permits include 16 single-family homes, 11 agricultural buildings and 14 accessory structures.
The amount of permits being issued by RDNO is good news financially.
“We’re back on track and covering the costs of the service. We have achieved full revenue for the year,” said Fleming.