Quake risk: Crematorium chapel shut

The Hastings crematorium chapel has been closed following a report measuring its earthquake risk.

The crematorium section will continue to operate while an immediate assessment is done to help owner the Hastings District Council make a decision on options for the building.

The chapel was placed on the council's earthquake-prone building register after an initial evaluation report showed it rated at 28.9 per cent of the current building code when regulations required buildings to rate above 33 per cent of the code, to avoid being placed on the register.

The council's community facilities acting manager Craig Thew said a detailed assessment had been partially completed on the building and it showed some work was needed to bring the building up to a standard where the council would be confident of public safety in the event of an earthquake.

"The decision to close the chapel will not affect the operation of the crematorium. Staff who operate the cremator have been made aware of the building strength and a new health and safety plan has been put in place to ensure their safety."

The council had flagged in its long-term plan the cremator needed to be upgraded or replaced.

"This requirement will need to be worked through" as part of talks on options for the chapel building."

This week University of Auckland associate professor of structural engineering Jason Ingham told a public meeting in Napier a decent earthquake could potentially bring down buildings in the central city or damage the facades of the city's iconic art deco buildings. Mr Ingham and Win Clark, executive officer of the New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering, were called in by the Art Deco Trust to give a presentation to central Napier landlords worried about the risk to their buildings. A similar meeting is planned in Hastings.

Art Deco Trust general manager Sally Jackson said the next step would involve work with Auckland University and the NZ Historic Places Trust to develop an action plan for building owners and tenants.

"We would like to create a model for engineers to work with and something building owners can use to strengthen their buildings if required. It will be a plan which shows the processes they need to go through and people they need to contact."