'Growing optimism' in NZ's infrastructure and building industries

Optimism is growing across several sectors in New Zealand’s building and infrastructure industries according to AECOM’s latest construction Sentiment Report. Outlook has improved significantly in the buildings investment market with 50 percent of industry respondents expecting increased expenditure in 2013, up from 14 percent in May 2012.

Restoration underway at Arts Centre

The $36 million restoration of the Great Hall and Clock Tower in the Christchurch Arts Centre has taken a step forward with the arrival of steel braces.

Arts Centre restoration under way

The $36 million restoration of the Great Hall and the Clock Tower at the Christchurch Arts Centre has taken a step forward with the arrival of steel braces.

House-lifting technology could save homes

Hundreds of condemned earthquake-damaged houses could be saved if new house-lifting technology proves a success.

Roving robot goes where humans can't

On this day: Hawke's Bay earthquake 1931

EQ damaged HNZ houses undergo rapid repairs in just six days

Canterbury quakes highlight need for risk management

Couple abandon ghost-town dream

Rubbish day for Brian Taylor is a stark reminder of the disintegration of his red-zoned community.

Mixed Use Competition

Peterborough Village / Pita Kāik 

Day 710 - stage 1 Garlands Rd completed

Stage 1 of the establishment of a base at 124 Garlands Rd was completed today. The gates have been painted and close properly. The gate counterweight has been finished and lots of little jobs tidied up.

Chch to mark second quake anniversary

Christchurch residents will gather in silence at 12:51pm on February 22 - the second anniversary of the deadly quake that rocked their city.

Peterborough Village : A Guide to Residential Renewal

Rebuild is chance for disabled tourism

Officials deciding on proposed earthquake-proofing building codes have been told ensuring New Zealand leads the way in access for the disabled will be a financial boom - including the chance to tap into a tourism sector that pumps almost $5 billion into the Australian economy.

Stoush over Christchurch bridge, twisted from the quake

Christchurch's famous twisted bridge, one of the symbols of the big February earthquake, will be moved because it's said to be a safety risk.

Insurers back record of written-off homes

The insurance industry is backing calls for a public record to be kept of earthquake-damaged homes that have been written off by insurers.

My Insurance Nightmare….

Since I published , many people have asked me about my personal insurance story, as this is not covered in the book. So in response, I am pleased to provide a brief break down of the facts:

Planned coastal pathway would cost $26m

Southern Response - additional customer meeting

Southern response recently advertised a customer meeting for the evening of Tuesday the 12th of February. An additional meeting will now be held from 2.30-4.30pm on the same day. 

Uncertainty over who will pay bill

Uncertainty over the cost of the proposed central Christchurch transport network could stall progress on the rebuild, Wigram Labour MP Megan Woods says.

New Regent St gearing up to reopen

Two New Regent St shops have been refurbished and handed back to their owners, and the precinct's opening date is pencilled in for March 22.

Theatre restoration spinoff for traffic flow

Restoration of the Isaac Theatre Royal in central Christchurch could mean Gloucester St will soon be reopened to two-way traffic.

Theatre restoration spinoff for traffic flow

Restoration of the Isaac Theatre Royal in central Christchurch could mean Gloucester St will soon be reopened to two-way traffic.

Uncertainty over who will pay bill

Uncertainty over the cost of the proposed central Christchurch transport network could stall progress on the rebuild, Wigram Labour MP Megan Woods says.

Planned coastal pathway would cost $26m

A proposed 6.5-kilometre coastal pathway between Ferrymead and Scarborough that could attract more than a million users is likely to cost about $26 million.

New Regent St gearing up to reopen

Two New Regent St shops have been refurbished and handed back to their owners, and the precinct's opening date is pencilled in for March 22.

Exciting times for ArtBox ahead

How rewarding to be part of a project that generates such enthusiasm! We had a wonderful response to our meeting on Monday [...]

Map showing St Albans boundaries

This map shows the original St Albans boundaries extending into what is now Merivale and the delivery area for the St Albans News. If you live outside the boundaries copies can be picked up in places like Edgeware Village Mall …

UNICEF seeks youth as ambassadors

UNICEF New Zealand is looking for young people who are passionate about global issues, children’s rights and making a difference to become Youth Ambassadors for 2013 – 2014. “We are looking for three people, aged 16 – 18, who are …

Packe St Park newsletter 25

The 25th newsletter of the Friends of Packe Street Park and community garden is being distributed. A copy of most of it appears on the next page. “I’ve lived in New Zealand since 1973 and still find it strange to start the New Year half way through the summer and already into jelly-making,” (Ed). People [...]

Red Zone Settlements for Port Hills homes affected by Section 124 notices and insured with IAG

Church windows on Trade Me

Stained glass windows made in the 1930s for the church in Edgeware Road are up for sale on Trade Me with a total asking price of nearly $100,000. The windows were made in 1937 by Bradley Brothers for the Wesleyan Church, later the Egyptian Coptic Church. The Church was demolished after the September 4 2010 [...]

Cranmer Court site for sale

The landmark Cranmer Court site in central Christchurch has been put up for sale by the building's 31 owners. 

Hot daze at the Pallet Pavilion

The Buskers festival was fantastic to have in the Pavilion from Jan 18 – 26. We hosted Keith Preene (Shay Horay) and his GOLDEN GOOSE BINGO every night. It was a hoot and fantastic to see the space full with 160+ happy folks inside. It was a chance for a lot more people to see [...]

Quote from The Marlborough Express

“Former Christchurch Central MP Brendon Burns suggested the group form a cluster and hold monthly meetings to discuss who was doing what around the rebuild, including roadblocks and opportunities. Mr Burns was integral in setting up the trip to Christchurch and the forum in Blenheim last year. Although Marlborough had made some positive connections in [...]

CCDU 6 pack 1 Feb 2013

·         Consultation has closed on the draft of – the transport chapter of the Christchurch Central Recovery Plan. Around 160 submissions will now be assessed to identify possible changes.

An Accessible City

Cera axes dress code after outcry

A proposal to ban red-zone workers from wearing t-shirts and shorts has been abandoned.

Worried About Anxiety? Don’t Be; It’s Often Good For You!

It’s the night before the morning of the BIG presentation and you are wide-awake. You know the material in your talk cold –shoot, you developed the model, you should— but that matters not a wit— Falling asleep is impossible. You won’t take a “sleep drug” since it could leave you drowsy, so you toss-and-turn fantasizing...

Worker village planned for St Albans

Up to 200 rebuild workers will be housed in a temporary village on the old Orion site in St Albans.

Commemoration event for the second anniversary of the 22 February 2011 Canterbury earthquake - Update

This is an update from this article here:

Rebuild impact on NZ uncertain

Uncertainties around Christchurch's rebuild makes it difficult to forecast its impact on New Zealand's economy, says the Reserve Bank (RBNZ) governor.

UC designs phone app for Christchurch’s historic High Street precinct

The University of Canterbury (UC) has designed a phone app and a website for Christchurch’s quake-hit historic High Street precinct which was severely damaged in the February 22 earthquake.

United front over quake rebuild

Marlborough businesses need to work together to provide seamless delivery of services and materials of the scale required for the Christchurch rebuild. That was the message to the 25 Marlborough delegates who attended a two-day forum in Christchurch this week, aimed at connecting with key people and groups involved in the rebuild. Marlborough is believed [...]

Chief Executive update - 1 February 2013

Trucks on way for Canty rebuild

Allied Concrete is investing $15 million in 30 new concrete trucks as it ramps up for the Canterbury rebuild.

Brownlee slams council housing 'inaction'

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee has attacked the Christchurch City Council for its failure to fix quake-damaged social housing units in the city despite a multimillion-dollar payout from the Earthquake Commission (EQC).

Christchurch rebuild cost warning

Christchurch city councillors have been warned in a secret meeting that the cost of fixing quake damaged underground infrastructure could be much more than originally thought.

Revised guidelines for repairing and rebuilding houses affected by the Canterbury earthquakes

SMEs get ready for return to usual tax deals

Small to medium enterprises have been hard hit by the Canterbury earthquakes, with more than 20 per cent still in survival mode.

New liquefaction report will help with the rebuild

Environment Canterbury today released a review of liquefaction information for Christchurch and neighbouring districts outside the green and red zones.

Day 708 - etched gates

The Garlands Rd gates took 4 hours to paint with etch primer. This goes on non rusty galvanised metal. It was very hot and a bit fumey. 1st of the epoxy top coats go on tomorrow afternoon.

EQC’s OIA Incompetence

The Official Information Act (OIA) exists to promote transparency in New Zealand.  Under the Official Information Act, the government acknowledges the public’s right demand information concerning government activities along with permitting individuals to access information that government entities have on them. 

Port Hills still dangerous - engineer

A senior geotechnical engineer says rock falls in Christchurch’s Port Hills will happen again and could kill more people.

Ground-motion prediction models for post-earthquake rapid reporting and reliable loss modelling using a sparsely distributed recording network in New Zealand

Consent granted for rebuild workers' camp

Resource consent has been granted for a temporary camp that will house up to 200 rebuild workers in St Albans, Christchurch.Christchurch company JGM Group Ltd has been granted consent to build a complex of relocatable single-bedroom...

High temperature may have loosened rock

A 40-tonne rock that crashed into an empty Port Hills home needed just millimetres of movement to shake loose, geotechnical engineers say.

Physical and statistical models for the seismological properties and a temporal evolution of earthquake sequences (swarms) in the Central Volcanic Region, New Zealand

Quake-making truck heads to Christchurch

A 30,000kg truck named T-Rex is bound for Christchurch to pound the city's shaky ground.

Characterization of undrained behaviour of Christchurch soils - Phase 2