More quake homes to be demolished

Photo / Geoff Sloan

Another 251 homes in Christchurch have been zoned red, Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority Minister Gerry Brownlee announced today.

Of the homes which had been zoned orange, 78 are in the east of the central city, 29 are in north Linwood, and 144 are in south Richmond.

All insured residential properties in the newly red zoned areas will be subject to the Government offer of purchase.

"Despite exhaustive research into the viability of remediating damaged land and rebuilding on these areas, the case for continued occupation does not stack up," Mr Brownlee said.

"An engineering solution to remediate the land and replace seriously damaged infrastructure would be uncertain, disruptive, take a very long time, and is simply not cost effective.

One property in Bangor St, in central city south, has been rezoned green.

Mr Brownlee said all of the properties rezoned red today have suffered widespread liquefaction resulting in ground settlement as well as extensive lateral spreading towards the Avon River.

"Consultant engineers Tonkin & Taylor have advised that area-wide perimeter treatment would be required in these areas to address the risk of future lateral spreading before properties could be repaired or rebuilt.

"The recommended perimeter treatment would require intrusion into private property up to five metres from roads alongside the Avon, meaning many houses would require demolition regardless of their damage from the quakes.

"Tonkin & Taylor also advise that such works would cause substantial vibration causing further damage to already weakened properties in the vicinity.

"On that basis we've decided the only feasible option is to provide residents with some certainty by offering to buy their land and homes," Mr Brownlee said.

Mr Brownlee said the decision was "particularly vexing" and would cause distress for some and provide relief for others.

Decisions on 401 orange zone homes in Southshore, and white zone properties on the Port Hills are yet to be made.

"I know patience is running out in Southshore West, but we will soon have all the information needed to be confident of a final decision," Mr Brownlee said.

He said the rebuilding in the area needs requires the risk of lateral spreading to be addressed by engineers before a decision can be made.

A review of 530 green zoned properties in Parklands east, which was prompted by the December 23 aftershock, is expected in the "very near future", Mr Brownlee said.

- Herald Online staff