Scoop has an Ethical Paywall
License needed for work use Register

Local Govt | National News Video | Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Search

 

CERA hands building safety programme over to local councils

CERA hands building safety programme over to local councils


A post-earthquake building assessment process, which identified and managed over 3500 high risk buildings in Greater Christchurch, has given the region’s residents a huge amount of confidence, says Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) chief executive Roger Sutton.

The Detailed Engineering Evaluations (DEE) programme will be handed over by the end of the year from CERA to local authorities to manage under their respective earthquake prone building policies, as per the standard practice across New Zealand.

The DEE process was put in place following the coloured placard system Civil Defence used in the initial days after the earthquakes.

CERA used a risk-based process to classify 13,000 commercial and multi-unit, multi-storey buildings in Greater Christchurch as high, medium or low risk, and building owners were asked to carry out structural checks in the order of priority.

“We needed a way to systematically check and record the structural integrity of these buildings in Christchurch and its surrounding towns. This meant any safety issues found could be addressed as quickly as possible,” Mr Sutton says.

“The DEE system made sure that building owners took responsibility for their properties and could get any necessary repairs underway. It also had the impact of giving the public confidence in the safety of buildings, and that has been a key part of our psychological recovery.”

Mr Sutton says the owners who have not yet had a DEE for their buildings will now work with city or district councils through their earthquake prone building policies.

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading

Are you getting our free newsletter?

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.

“Essentially we are back to a business-as-usual process now with the transition to the councils, and I think that is commendable given the level of destruction that the city sustained. CERA staff have worked very hard to ensure the high priority buildings are either checked and cleared, or that owners have got their repairs underway.”

“This work means that greater Christchurch’s building stock is actually now amongst the most seismically resilient in New Zealand and the councils’ building policies will be some of the most advanced nationally.”

Mr Sutton says the DEE process is a credit to New Zealand’s engineering industry. More on the DEE process can be found at www.cera.govt.nz/structural-assessments.

ends

© Scoop Media

Advertisement - scroll to continue reading
 
 
 
Parliament Headlines | Politics Headlines | Regional Headlines

Gordon Campbell: On The Government’s Smokefree Laws Debacle

The most charitable explanation for National’s behaviour over the smokefree legislation is that they have dutifully fulfilled the wishes of the Big Tobacco lobby and then cast around – incompetently, as it turns out - for excuses that might sell this health policy U-turn to the public. The less charitable view is that the government was being deliberately misleading. Are we to think Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is a fool, or a liar? It seems rather early on in his term of office to be facing that unpleasant choice. Yet when Luxon (and senior MP Chris Bishop) tried to defend the indefensible with the same wildly inaccurate claim, there are not a lot of positive explanations left on the table.... More


 
 
Public Housing Futures: Christmas Comes Early For Landlords

New CTU analysis of the National & ACT coalition agreement has shown the cost of returning interest deductibility to landlords is an extra $900M on top of National’s original proposal. This is because it is going to be implemented earlier and faster, including retrospective rebates from April 2023. More


Green Party: Petition To Save Oil & Gas Ban

“The new Government’s plan to expand oil and gas exploration is as dangerous as it is unscientific. Whatever you think about the new government, there is simply no mandate to trash the climate. We need to come together to stop them,” says James Shaw. More

PSA: MFAT Must Reverse Decision To Remove Te Reo

MFAT's decision to remove te reo from correspondence before new Ministers are sworn in risks undermining the important progress the public sector has made in honouring te Tiriti. "We are very disappointed in what is a backward decision - it simply seems to be a Ministry bowing to the racist rhetoric we heard on the election campaign trail," says Marcia Puru. More

 
 
 
 
 
 

LATEST HEADLINES

  • PARLIAMENT
  • POLITICS
  • REGIONAL
 
 

InfoPages News Channels


 
 
 
 

Join Our Free Newsletter

Subscribe to Scoop’s 'The Catch Up' our free weekly newsletter sent to your inbox every Monday with stories from across our network.