A new bill could see almost a third of Hawke Bay’s quake-prone buildings (more than 40) no longer deemed hazardous. Photo / NZME
Napier property owner Pat Benson’s final wish was for New Zealand to relax earthquake-prone building rules, which he believed were excessively cautious.
Now, after the Government announced a significant shake-up to the rules on Monday, his family say “it’s good to see common sense prevail”.
If passed into law next year, the new bill could see almost a third of Hawke Bay’s earthquake-prone buildings no longer deemed quake-prone and removed from the Earthquake-Prone Building Register (EPB Register).
In a joint statement Napier MP Katie Nimon and Tukituki MP Catherine Wedd claimed the changes would save the region about $245m in remediation costs.
They said about 15 buildings in Napier, two in Havelock North and seven in Wairoa will be removed from the EPB register entirely, and the remaining buildings will have “more cost-effective remediation pathways”.
Meanwhile, townships with fewer than 10,000 people – such as Wairoa, Waipukurau, Waipawa and Dannevirke – will no longer have to undergo mandatory remediation work by law, or display warning notices on their earthquake-prone buildings (if they are under three storeys).
However, those buildings will remain on the EPB Register, unless the owner secures the building’s facade.
Dannevirke alone has 39 buildings on its main street that have been deemed earthquake-prone.
The proposed changes will save building owners in Hawke’s Bay and nearby areas an estimated hundreds of millions of dollars, according to the Government.
How buildings are assessed as earthquake-prone is also changing.
Hawke’s Bay has 156 buildings on the EPB Register, all of which have been deemed earthquake-prone and whose owners have faced deadlines to strengthen their buildings (or demolish them).
Some are notable buildings – such as Waiapu Cathedral in the Napier CBD – although many are single or two-storey buildings.
Nationwide, there are more than 5800 buildings on the register.
Calls have grown in recent years for the rules to be relaxed nationwide, as many building owners have struggled to afford or meet the requirements.
At present, a building is deemed earthquake-prone if it has a rating below 34% when compared with seismic requirements in the Building Code.
These rules were introduced in 2017, largely following reviews into the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, which killed 185 people.
Most of those deaths occurred when the six-storey CTV building collapsed.
A major focus of the rules is to prevent buildings falling on people or blocking emergency services, particularly in busy areas such as city or town centres.
Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk announced the outcome of a review on Monday, detailing significant proposed changes to the rules.
Notably, assessments which use a percentage against the Building Code will be axed.
Buildings will instead be identified as earthquake-prone if they meet one of two criteria – unreinforced masonry buildings with unsecured facades facing public areas, or concrete buildings of three storeys or more which are assessed as needing strengthening work.
Penk claimed the changes would not put people in harm’s way but were a “fairer” model.
Exact details around individual buildings are yet to be released.
However, it is estimated almost a third of Hawke’s Bay’s earthquake-prone buildings could be removed from the EPB Register, many owners will have less extensive work to complete, and smaller towns will not have mandatory remediation (if under three storeys).
“This change recognises that the risk of a facade falling on a pedestrian is simply lower in communities with fewer than 10,000 residents ... because there are fewer people on the streets.”
Pat Benson died in 2024 and was a respected businessman and property owner in Napier.
He helped restore art deco buildings – such as the Daily Telegraph building on Tennyson St – and received a Queen’s Service Medal QSM for his work protecting Napier’s unique architecture.
At his funeral, a letter titled “Pat’s last message” was placed on each seat.
It called for changes to earthquake-prone building laws, which he believed were based on “excessive caution”.
“One of the reasons my brothers and I bought art deco buildings in the first place was to save and protect them ... should we now bulldoze all these buildings just to be on the safe side?”
His son, Chris Benson, told Hawke’s Bay Today his father would have been pleased with this week’s news.
“It’s good to see common sense prevail,” he said.
“When I first heard of it, immediately my thoughts went to Pat’s last message, because it consumed a lot of his thoughts and efforts.”
Benson Property owns multiple buildings around Napier, including the likes of 47 Tennyson St (tenanted by Mister D restaurant) which has been deemed earthquake-prone.
“It’s not to say that strengthening work wouldn’t be undertaken in the future, it is more handing the option back to the property owners, who are looking to do what is best for their buildings.”
Napier MP Katie Nimon said it made the rules clearer for people.
“If you are one to two storeys, it is about securing the street frontage; if you are three storeys or more, it is about the collapse risk.”
Regarding the Waiapu Cathedral, while she was not across all the details for the building, she said, “that one still falls under the risk of collapse, I would say”, and would require strengthening.
“This is not going to make every building all of a sudden not earthquake-prone; some buildings will still be affected and rightly so.”
The Anglican diocese has been contacted for comment on the cathedral.
Ten notable buildings deemed earthquake-prone
Waiapu Cathedral (Napier)
Ormlie Lodge (Waiohiki)
Hawke’s Bay Racing Club grandstands (Hastings Racecourse)
Playhouse Theatre (Hastings)
Central Hawke’s Bay Municipal Theatre (Waipawa)
Hastings War Memorial Library
The Old Mill (Napier)
WoolWorks (Awatoto)
St Matthew’s Church (Hastings)
St Paul’s Anglican Church (Wairoa)
Gary Hamilton-Irvine is a Hawke’s Bay-based reporter who covers a range of news topics, including business, councils, breaking news and cyclone recovery. He formerly worked at News Corp Australia.