Timaru District Council is next month holding three Earthquake Prone Buildings (EPB) workshops to help ensure building owners are up to speed with the notification process.

The work to ensure a stronger built environment in the Timaru District is moving onto the notification phase, where owners of potentially earthquake prone buildings (EPB) will be asked to obtain an initial seismic assessment.
The EQB Amendments to the Building Act set out the shared responsibility that the council, building owners and engineers have to work towards the goal of a safer built environment. Timelines for the assessment, identification and remediation of EPBs are set out in legislation.

Council’s Building Control Manager Jayson Ellis says workshops will explain how the process will work and building owners‘ responsibilities going forward.

“Following on from our initial workshop last year, this time we are focusing on the process in writing to building owners who have potential EPBs adjacent to strategic routes or thoroughfares,” he said.

“The letter will advise them that they have a year to obtain an Initial Seismic Assessment report that will identify the building’s seismic strength as a percentage of the New Building Standard.”
Ellis says that the workshops, which are open to the public, offer a good opportunity to gain an insight into the process and an outline of the next phase.
“There will be also be an update about Heritage EQUIP, a government funded grant system to share costs of both investigation and strengthening work,“ he said.

“A Structural Engineer who has designed strengthening projects will be at some of the workshops to explain the technical processes and we’ll have a brief case study of the recent seismic strengthening project carried out on the Temuka Service Centre.”

People can attend these workshop without registration. Time and locations are as follows:

1. Timaru Workshop
o Time: 7pm, Thursday, 13 June 2019
o Location: Council Chambers, Timaru District Council, 2 King George Place, Timaru
2. Temuka Workshop
o Time: 7pm Tuesday, 18 June 2019
o Location: Alpine Energy Stadium Lounge, Temuka Domain, Domain Avenue, Temuka
3. Geraldine Workshop
o Time: 7pm, Tuesday, 20 June 2019
o Location: Domain Pavilion, Hislop Street, Geraldine
For more information about this process and how the new legislation may affect you as a building owner or a member of the public visit: https://www.timaru.govt.nz/services/building/managing-earthquake-risk

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