New home for Christchurch St John, Civil Defence

New home for St John and Christchurch City Council Civil Defence Emergency Operations

St John is replacing its Christchurch headquarters with a new building that will also house the Christchurch City Council’s new Civil Defence Emergency Operations Centre.

St John says the proposed new building will be jointly owned with the Christchurch City Council, will be located on the present St John site in St Asaph Street and will provide important facilities for the city in the future.

The Council’s new Civil Defence centre will be on one floor with St John occupying the balance of the new multi-storey building .The proposed completion date for the building is November 2011.

The Council has allocated up to $3.9 million in its Long Term Council Community Plan for a new Civil Defence Operations Centre. It signed off the proposal in December last year and the decision was ratified by the St John board recently.

Finding a new site for the Civil Defence Emergency Operations Centre has been a priority for the Council since the introduction of revised loading standards in 2007. These stipulate that the centre had to be housed in an “importance Level 4 building”, able to be fully operational after an earthquake with a return period of 2500 years. Neither the current Council offices in Tuam Street nor the new Council building are of the required strength.

St John says it is delighted to be working with the Christchurch City Council on this important project which will help create more capacity to support the delivery of St John services and meet the growing needs of the community in Christchurch city and surrounds.

Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker has welcomed the partnership with St John, saying it is an ideal opportunity to be locating the city’s Civil Defence centre with one of the region’s emergency response operations. In addition the site is close to the new Council building, the Canterbury Regional Emergency Coordination Centre, Christchurch Hospital and the Central Police Station. It is also a cost effective option for ratepayers.

“All Civil Defence activities will be undertaken at the one location in a modern and good quality facility, including the training of volunteers, storage for vehicles, trailers, and operational equipment,” Mr Parker says.

“Serious earthquakes in the last few months in both Haiti and Chile have highlighted the need for us to be prepared for an emergency in our city. I feel very reassured to be progressing a new Civil Defence Emergency Operations Centre in our city.”

ENDS