Parker admits council may not have fought sub-divisions

Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker. Photo / Greg Bowker

Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker has admitted he may have been mistaken when he claimed the City Council resisted allowing developments in quake damage prone new subdivisions.

Mr Parker had earlier claimed that the council rejected sub-divisions in some of the worst hit areas saying residents had only been able to build after overturning the council in the Environment Court.

New subdivisions such as Pacific Park in Bexley suffered extensive damage in the September 4 quake as ground liquefied, pushing silt and water into the streets and causing damage to many homes.

Mr Parker's admission that he may have been mistaken comes after councillor Chrissie Williams asked the council for a list of cases when they had refused building but the council could not find any, The Press reported.

Ms Williams said Mr Parker was lying when he made the claims and Mr Parker while admitting he may have been mistaken says he never intentionally misled anyone.

Mr Parker said he misunderstood information given to him by council staff and had not been in the council when the decision when Pacific Park was rezoned as residential land in the early 1990s.

Council general manager of strategy and planning Michael Theelen took responsibility for Mr Parker's comments saying it was his fault for not passing on the message "clearly enough".

Meanwhile Prime Minister John Key yesterday urged Cantabrians frustrated by the quake response to be patient while Earthquake Commission (EQC) staff checked homes.

Mr Key said a further 52 assessors were due to arrive in Canterbury today adding to the 300 staff already in the region.

EQC had by yesterday received 64,274 building damage claims following the September 4 quake. Of those, 2759 related to homes deemed uninhabitable and 3091 to homes no longer weatherproof.

Responding to claims that some of the worst hit residents were getting frustrated with the Government's response to the quake, Mr Key said it was doing all it could.

"There will be a very small group who will be very badly affected, their homes will need to either be demolished or substantially rebuilt. I can understand their anxiety and frustration but it's really important that we get that right for them."

He said negotiations were being undertaken with insurers, EQC and engineers to ensure the assess of those people could be preserved and restored with the least possible financial impact for them.

"I acknowledge that frustration but they just need to give us a little bit more time."

He also defended the Government's rushing through of legislation providing extraordinary powers to relax acts of Parliament so recovery processes can be sped up, but said the extent of those powers could be narrowed.

"We are not looking to try and pull a swifty in passing things through the (Earthquake Response and Recovery Bill). We are just simply trying to speed up the facilitation of the rebuild in Canterbury."

- NZPA