Government quake‑prone buildings rules overhaul could save Tauranga owners $39m

Tauranga Hospital is on the earthquake-prone buildings register, along with several other buildings in Tauranga. Photo / NZME

The Government’s planned shake-up of the earthquake-prone building system could cut six Tauranga buildings from the register, saving owners millions of dollars in remediation costs.

Indicative estimates from National’s research and communications team found the changes would together save the owners of some of Tauranga’s 19 quake-prone buildings about $39 million, Tauranga MP Sam Uffindell said.

Tauranga City Council general manager of regulatory and community services Sarah Omunsden said six of the 19 buildings on the earthquake-prone buildings register were owned by the council or its facilities arm Bay Venues and four others by wider government agencies.

These included the Tauranga fire station, Tauranga Hospital, part of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council building and a Defence Force-owned building.

The balance was privately owned, she said.

“Of the 19 buildings, our initial analysis using the new guidelines suggests there will be 13 likely to remain classified as earthquake-prone buildings.”

Omunsden said there were no privately owned earthquake-prone buildings in the CBD.

Tauranga City Council general manager of regulatory and compliance Sarah Omundsen. Photo / Alex Cairns

She said eight areas of the hospital required seismic fixes, including the podium, emergency department, stairway and elevator tower, kitchen block, Radiology T28, Building 50, wards in the west block and the northern wing.

Nine units of an apartment block at 110 Hamilton St were also on the register.

However, Omunsden said in some cases, the changes could significantly reduce the extent and cost of remediation compared to the current requirements.

“At this stage, we have no insight into the dollar value.”

The earliest deadline for the council-owned buildings’ remediation was 2041, she said.

“The council, like all owners of affected properties, will need to review our buildings and decide whether to continue with any plans to remediate them.

“We will continue to work with all earthquake-prone building owners to ensure buildings in Tauranga are safe and compliant.”

Uffindell said the current rules placed an “overwhelming financial burden” on building owners.

Tauranga MP Sam Uffindell. Photo / Rosalie Liddle Crawford

“These changes are common sense and better balance risk.

“They will save people in Tauranga millions of dollars, which can effectively be used to grow businesses and support jobs in our region.”

He said National’s research showed the estimated cost to fix the current quake-prone buildings in Tauranga on the register was $115m.

The research suggested only 12 buildings in Tauranga would remain on the register under the new rules, with an estimated $76m of repairs needed.

Currently, a building is deemed quake-prone if it has a rating below 30% when compared with seismic requirements in the Building Act code.

Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk. Photo / Supplied

Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk said the changes would refocus the current earthquake-prone building system to reduce repair costs and “reinvigorate communities”.

Nationwide, there are more than 5800 buildings on the register.

Penk said the new earthquake-prone building system would only relate to buildings deemed a “genuine risk to human life” in medium and high-seismic zones. The Bay of Plenty is in a medium-risk zone.

If passed into law next year, it would mean thousands of buildings would be removed from the system.

Penk said the current system was “well-intentioned” and the new system was expected to save more than $8.2 billion in remediation and demolition costs.

“For many buildings, the price of strengthening runs from hundreds of thousands to several million dollars. As a result, these buildings are often left empty and become derelict, making them even more dangerous to bystanders in an earthquake.”

He said cities and regions were losing businesses, churches, town halls and classrooms that were “central to their local economies and community spirit”.

Sandra Conchie is a senior journalist at the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post who has been a journalist for 25 years. She mainly covers police, court and other justice stories, as well as general news. She has been a Canon Media Awards regional/community reporter of the year.