Thursday 30 August 2012

Draft Facilities Rebuild Plan to be considered

Christchurch City Council’s Community, Recreation and Culture Committee will next week consider a report that proposes 25 significant Council-owned facilities be prioritised for funding, further investigation and, where possible, repairs.

The report, which will be presented to the committee on Tuesday 4 September, also recommends the approval of a draft prioritised programme for the remainder of the 1000 facilities included in the Council’s Facilities Rebuild Plan project.

General Manager Community Services Michael Aitken says residents understandably want to know when repairs or other work will begin on Council-owned facilities.

“These are only recommendations at this stage. If elected members decide this is the way forward, more work will need to be done to finalise the programme and to understand more about the facilities, such as the type of repairs and earthquake strengthening needed, the cost of this work and how much of this will be covered by insurance.”

The proposed list of 25 ‘significant projects’ includes a range of facilities across Christchurch and Banks Peninsula that are currently closed. Some were closed following the earthquakes while the Council has closed others after receiving Detailed Engineering Evaluation (DEE) assessments which shows they are below 34 percent of the New Building Standard (NBS).

The top 25 were selected based on a criteria that considered a number of factors, including the impact the building’s closure is having on the community. At the meeting next week, Staff will ask the committee to recommend the Council endorses the criteria used for prioritisation, the top projects and the way the rest of the programme has been prioritised.

In the report, staff recommend they should seek Council approval for many of the significant 25 facilities by the end of this year, while they should make recommendations to the Council on the remainder next year.

Community Recreation and Culture Committee Chairman Yani Johanson says, "While a huge focus has been on major facilities in the Central City, it is important not to forget about our suburbs either. Local libraries, swimming pools, community halls, and service centres are an integral part of having a well functioning city. As such, I believe it is vital that Council gives a clear indication on key priorities for the permanent repair/ or eplacement of local facilities. It is time to tell people where positive progress will be made in the short term on helping to restore the quality of life that such amenities provide. I look forward to the Committee having a robust discussion on what should happen when.”

Based on the criteria being proposed by staff, the 25 significant facilities are (these are not in any particular order):

• Lyttelton Visitors Centre and toilet
• Sumner Surf Club toilets
• Bishopdale Library and Community Centre
• Gaiety Hall
• Risingholme Community Centre Craft Rooms
• Fendalton Community Centre
• Sydenham Preschool
• Akaroa Museum
• Lyttelton Recreation Centre and Trinity Hall
• Waltham Pool
• Lyttelton Pool (Norman Kirk Memorial Pool)
• Social housing facilities (this covers six new projects which will seek to intensify or replace existing housing complexes by building new units on existing land)
• Christchurch Botanic Gardens Paddling Pool
• Whale Paddling Pool, New Brighton
• Scarborough Paddling Pool
• South Library and Beckenham Service Centre
• Linwood Library, Service Centre and Community Hub
• Christchurch Botanic Gardens Glasshouses
• Lyttelton Service Centre
• Akaroa Service Centre
• Sign of the Takahe
• Canterbury Provincial Council Buildings
• Sign of the Kiwi
• Our City O-Tautahi
• Sumner Library, Museum and Community Hub

Read the full report to the committee, including all the staff recommendations, here: http://www1.ccc.govt.nz/council/agendas/2012/september/crc4th/full_crc_agenda.pdf

For more information about the Facilities Rebuild Plan project, visit www.ccc.govt.nz/facilitiesrebuild

ENDS

© Scoop Media