Significant progress in Kaiapoi since quake, council says

Andrew Blackwell in front of his family's department store after the earthquake. Photo / Geoff Dale

While some Kaiapoi residents are still to get back on their feet after the September 4, the Waimakariri District Council says significant earthquake recovery progress has been made since the start of the year.

Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee will be in the Kaiapoi this evening to speak to residents about earthquake recovery and to hear their concerns.

Around 1000 homes in the Kaiapoi and nearby towns of Pine Beach and Kairaki were severely damaged in the quake, and many buildings are still in disrepair as owners await reports from structural engineers.

Kaiapoi Community Board chairperson Robyn Wallace said some people have coped better than others with the pace of the recovery progress.

"I've spoken to some who feel they have had progress and then I have spoke to others who feel they've had no progress," she said.

Ms Wallace said that, like other towns in Canterbury, business in the town had been quiet since the devastating quake.

"In Kaiapoi there have been issues for business owners, just like in Christchurch. We are doing what we can for those people."

Andrew Blackwell, whose 90-year-old family department store was severely damaged in the earthquake, said even though it had been five months since the quake he was being patient with the recovery process.

"We are still, like a lot of people, awaiting structure engineers reports to be done on the state of our business before work can be done, Mr Blackwell said.

"We would obviously liked it to be done a bit quicker, but when you've got over 1000 homes affected up to 40 per cent of businesses damaged we have just basically got to be a bit patient."

Mr Blackwell said business had not picked up since the quake and he was waiting to find out whether his business would continue to operate from the historic building or would have to relocate. The business is currently trading on roughly half of its usual floor space.

"It has been there a long time," he said of the building. "If it has been there for 90 years it deserves us to wait a bit longer so it can be properly assessed and not for any hasty decisions to be made."

Waimakariri District Council chief executive Jim Palmer said he was encouraged by the earthquake recovery progress being made.

"It has been a painstaking process of immense size and minute detail," he said "I'm very aware of the frustration and difficulties this has caused some people."

"While there is still some way to go in returning to normal, the progress now has more traction and we can begin to put some tentative dates around land remediation. Hopefully, this will give those affected more certainty."

The Earthquake Recovery Hub in Kaiapoi had developed rapidly, the council said, with alterations under way at the Kaiapoi Community Centre and Darnley Square to accommodate staff.

Fifteen recovery support co-ordinators are working with property owners in Kaiapoi with each responsible for guiding about forty property owners through the recovery process. Additional support coordinators are likely to be needed in the near future to address the expected workload.

The Rangiora Town Hall is scheduled to be repaired by the middle of March, and the Picture Theatre has now been completely repaired.

The council is willing to spend $1 million in improving the Kaiapoi library and service centre, over and above the cost of repairs. They have also budgeted for an additional 50 per cent of floor space in the rebuild of the Kaiapoi Museum.

The Kaiapoi Town Centre strategy will open for public consultation from February 19. The council said the document was being finalised and was scheduled to be approved by the council's Earthquake Recovery Committee next week.