Bennett: Tell us about annoying red tape

She has set up a new taskforce to try to eliminate pedantic and unnecessary rules that frustrated property owners.

“We’ve seen rules and regulations brought in over decades that were well-intentioned but end up being confusing, onerous and costly while failing to deliver any real benefit for the property owner or the wider public,” she said.

The taskforce will begin operating in October. It will include central and local government experts and specialists from the building and trades sector.

Bennett said: “Anyone doing building work knows just how frustrating and costly the bureaucracy can get.  We want to hear from property owners, builders, tradespeople and businesses on rules and regulations that are crying out for sensible change. There will be a website where people can send us examples of loopy rules and the taskforce will hear submissions from the public on areas ripe for change. We have rules dictating all sorts of weird and wonderful things from signage over cake stalls to where your shower curtains need to be positioned.”

She said one property owner trying to replace a fence found some of it was on a scenic reserve and they would have to buy or lease the land.

“While there’s always a degree of rationale behind these rules, the taskforce will be charged with identifying what should stay and what should go so people can get on with the job of building, renovating or event planning without have to wade through a morass of unnecessary rules.”