Hon Gerry Brownlee
Minister for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery



13 September 2012 Media Statement

Port Hills rock roll zoning complete

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee says all 37 remaining residential Port Hills properties at risk from rock roll have now been zoned red and eligible owners will receive a residential red zone offer from the Crown.

The properties, in the Horotane Valley and on Bridle Path Road, are the last of the previously white zoned properties at risk from rock roll or cliff collapse to be zoned in the Port Hills.

Eight properties in Lucas Lane at risk from landslip are still zoned white and on schedule for an October decision on their final zoning while further assessments are carried out.

All property owners affected by today’s announcement were individually informed of the decisions by the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) this evening.

Mr Brownlee says he appreciates waiting so long for a decision has been an extremely difficult time for the residents.

“We delayed making a decision on these properties in August as we wanted to explore every avenue possible for these properties.

“Over recent weeks experts have carried out a final detailed assessment to see if the 37 properties could be protected by mitigation.

“After consideration of a range of factors including feasibility, complexities around land ownership, cost-effectiveness and timeliness, we have concluded it is not practicable to implement major area-wide mitigation,” Mr Brownlee says.

The Government is making an offer to purchase insured residential properties, insured residential properties with dwellings under construction and insured non-residential properties owned by not for profit organisations in the red zone to allow homeowners to plan for their future.

A final decision has not yet been made on vacant, uninsured, or commercial properties in the Port Hills.

As with the zoning of residential properties on the flat land, CERA will also be announcing a review process for Port Hills’ residents seeking a review of their zoning decision. An announcement of the review process will be made very soon.

To assist property owners in considering their options, GNS Science information relating to risk modelling will be released soon.

© Scoop Media

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