Public information meeting on Earthquake-prone Building Policy

Council is consulting on its draft Earthquake-prone Building Policy and is holding a public information meeting on Thursday 16 June in the Little Theatre at 7.30pm.

The policy proposes all earthquake-prone buildings in Lower Hutt meet at least 67% of new building standards. The current policy requires earthquake prone buildings to meet 50% of new building standards and 33.3% for heritage or historic earthquake-prone buildings.

Mayor Ray Wallace says the meeting is an opportunity for the public to hear from a representative of the New Zealand Society of Earthquake Engineers about what's involved in determining the structural standard of a building, as well as lessons learned from the Christchurch earthquakes.

"My recent visit to Christchurch left me in no doubt earthquake-prone buildings in Lower Hutt must meet a higher standard to reduce the risk of people being hurt or killed in the event of a quake.

"I encourage people to come along to the meeting, hear from the experts, ask questions, and afterwards make a submission on the draft policy."

Copies of the draft Earthquake-prone Building Policy and submission forms are available from Council's main administration building on Laings Road, libraries, and www.huttcity.govt.nz. Submissions close on Thursday 7 July at 5pm.

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