19 hours ago
Part of Christchurch council building shut down for months
The annex on the Worcester Boulevard side of the civic offices was closed last month.
Photo:
RNZ / Nate McKinnon
Part of the Christchurch City Council building will remain closed for months after an engineering report showed it was an earthquake risk.
The annex on the Worcester Boulevard side of the civic offices, which usually housed the council chamber and mayor's working space, was closed last month.
An engineering seismic assessment showed it only had a new building-standard (NBS) rating of 40 percent.
A building with an NBS rating of less than 34 percent was considered earthquake-prone, while a rating between 34 and 67 per cent was deemed "moderate risk".
Photo:
RNZ / Nate McKinnon
Council chief executive Mary Richardson said the area would remain off-limits to staff as a precaution so strengthening work could be carried out.
"The likelihood of a large earthquake is considered low, however based on the potential consequences and the temporary mitigation measures available, we have determined that the council should continue to vacate the annex area," she said.
"Safety of council staff, elected members and visitors is paramount and after discussing the risks, mitigations and options with the council engineers and the executive leadership team, we're not willing to take any risks on that."
The work was expected to take six months.
The investigation and construction could happen promptly because the annex would be unoccupied during this period, Richardson said.
"Although, we are still working on logistics for how the remedial programme will run," she said.
"Due to the longer period of restricting occupancy of the annex, we will be looking at options to improve the working environment for staff and elected members, particularly those who have been relocated."
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