Greater Christchurch Recovery Update - 15 June 2012

Posted 14 Jun 2012 by GovtCera Popular
Posted in CERA/Govt , Christchurch , Rebuild

Release Date: 14 June 2012

Greater Christchurch Recovery Update cover image. Greater Christchurch Recovery Update - 15 June 2012[PDF 1.35MB]

The latest issue of the Greater Christchurch Recovery Update, published 15 June 2012

 

Stories this issue include:

  • The recovery strategy
  • Christchurch Central Development Unit
  • Proposed Avon River Park
  • Places, spaces and connections
  • Fibre broadband
  • SCIRT update
  • ECAN update
  • EQC drilling
  • Top 10 tips to keep warm
  • Shake, rattle and record
  • Councils update

 

 

 

 

 

 

0800 RING CERA I 0800 7464 2372 I Fax (03) 963 6382 I www.cera.govt.nz
Greater Christchurch
R E C O V E R Y U P D A T E
The Recovery Strategy
Providing vision and direction for
greater Christchurch A significant milestone in the recovery of greater
Christchurch was reached on May 31, with the launch of
the Recovery Strategy for Greater Christchurch, Mahere
Haumanutanga o Waitaha by Earthquake Minister Gerry
Brownlee. In many ways it represents a turning point as
the city moves from the immediate recovery phase to
rebuilding and revitalisation of the region.
The Recovery Strategy is essentially a roadmap through
the rebuild. It outlines how opportunities for investment,
innovation and job creation can be maximised, while
ensuring the wellbeing of the community is at the heart of
the recovery.
It has been developed following months of consultation and
collaboration with the community, government agencies, and
groups including Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, the Christchurch
City Council, Selwyn and Waimakariri District Councils and
Environment Canterbury.
The Strategy aims to provide direction for all those involved
in recovery activities. The Recovery Strategy has statutory
effect, setting recovery goals and priorities into key planning
instruments such as Long Term Plans and District Plans for
greater Christchurch, enabling government and councils to work
together towards ongoing earthquake resilience. It also sets
out phases of recovery, recognising that many organisations
and individuals have a part to play, not just Government but
also councils, iwi, communities, private sector, businesses,
and the residents of greater Christchurch.
The recovery vision is for greater Christchurch to recover
and progress as a place to be proud of – an attractive and
vibrant place to live, work, visit and invest, mō tātou, ā, mō
kā uri ā muri ake nei – for us and our children after us. In this
newsletter you will find news and updates on different areas
of the recovery.
You can find more information about the Recovery Strategy
and how it is being implemented as well as read a copy on
the CERA website at www.cera.govt.nz. Copies are also
available to view at your local library.
Developing a
Recovery Plan for
the Central City
page 3
Places, spaces, and
connections
page 4
EQC’s TC3 drilling
gets underway
page 6
June 2012
INSIDE
2 Greater Christchurch Recovery Update - June 2012
Gerry Brownlee
Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister
The recovery of the greater Christchurch region
presents us with the biggest challenge we as a
region and country have faced in our short history.
The scale and complexity of the task for
communities, for individuals, for local authorities,
and for the Government and its agencies, is
impossible to overestimate.
However, with challenge comes opportunity.
Ensuring we meet the challenge and realise the
opportunity is the Government’s number one priority.
We have already achieved a great deal since the first
earthquake of 4 September 2010 and the even more
devastating quake of 22 February 2011. We are well
into the journey of recovery and revitalisation of our
region.
Last week I officially launched the Recovery Strategy
for Greater Christchurch Mahere Haumanutanga
o Waitaha. While much recovery work has already
been completed and much more is underway, the
publication of the Recovery Strategy signifies a
major step in this journey.
It provides a framework for a coordinated,
collaborative and sustained recovery - effectively a
roadmap for our recovery journey.
It has been developed along with strategic partners
Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, the Christchurch City
Council, the Waimakariri District Council, the Selwyn
District Council, and Environment Canterbury.
Many thousands of contributions from the people of
greater Christchurch have also helped develop an
excellent framework of components for the Strategy,
and will also play a major part in its success.
So many of you contributed your ideas and your
energy and I thank you for that.
There are six key components of recovery:
economic, social, cultural, built environment, natural
environment, and leadership and integration.
Within each component sit a number of more
detailed and specific Recovery Programmes.
I encourage you to download the full Strategy at
www.cera.govt.nz, talk to your friends and get
involved in its delivery.
Development of the Recovery Strategy was a
requirement of the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery
Act 2011 and I’d like to thank Roger Sutton and his
staff for their hard work producing this excellent
document.
Ensuring recovery is sustainable and successful
requires leadership, and that is what is delivered
with this Recovery Strategy.
The Government remains absolutely committed to
greater Christchurch and its people. This region
has always been a great place to live and visit, and
a very significant contributor to New Zealand’s
economic activity. This is our opportunity to rebuild
our region and restore it to a vibrant, strong, diverse
place people will want to live in, visit and invest in.
Together we will make it even greater.
Roger Sutton
CERA Chief Executive
Roger Sutton on the Recovery Strategy
Welcome to the new-look Greater Christchurch Recovery
Update from CERA. We thought the timing was right
to create a fresh new magazine to be the ‘voice’ of the
recovery. There are many exciting and important things
happening in Christchurch right now. We want to make sure
you are kept up-to-date with the progress happening in all
aspects of the recovery, and the work going on across the
city.
To recover from natural disaster means more than repairing
damage. A city is so much more than physical structures
– it’s a community, a natural and built environment, a social
and economic network. With the launch of the Recovery
Strategy we now have the first part of our roadmap towards
linking all these things together and making a new, better
Christchurch. The strategy reflects a lot of hard questions
and tough lessons: it embodies everything we’ve learned
about what needs to be done.
More than anything I think it shows an understanding of how
community, industry, and government all have roles to play
in genuine recovery. We need everyone on board, working
together, because we have an enormous job to get on with.
We’ve already seen examples of what can be done with
projects like Restart Mall, Addington Stadium, and the use of
green spaces like Hagley Park. On the individual level we’ve
seen countless acts of kindness and recovery whether it’s
people checking on their neighbours, repairing their houses,
or establishing new businesses in town.
LEADERSHIP & INTEGRATION
ECONOMIC
BUILT
CULTURAL NATURAL
SOCIAL
COMMUNITY
The components
of recovery
The Recovery Strategy goals and the programmes
of work are organised around six inter-connected
categories. This diagram outlines the high level goals in
the six recovery components.
Leadership and integration encompasses research
and information, communication, funding and finance and
the governance, coordination and project management of
recovery activities.
Economic recovery includes investment, business, labour
market and insurance liaison
Built environment includes land, land use, housing,
buildings, transport and infrastructure
Natural environment includes air quality, biodiversity, the
coast, land, groundwater and surface water quality and
natural hazards
Send us your feedback
The Greater Christchurch Recovery Update is your monthly update on the progress of recovery. If you have
a story idea or wish to send us feedback, you can email newsletter@cera.govt.nz or send a letter to:
Greater Christchurch Recovery Update
Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority
Private Bag 4999
Christchurch 8140
Cultural recovery includes the arts, culture, heritage
buildings and cultural heritage places and sports and
recreation
Social recovery includes education, health and community
support services
As winter sets in these individual acts are more important
than ever. Be sure to keep warm and keep an eye out for
people who may be struggling. A city isn’t a city without
people, and the way we act under difficult circumstances
says more about Christchurch than anything else can.
Clearly this will be a city of opportunities as it starts to
boom, and we want to make sure it’s not just short term
employment but a long term future. The last year has given
me enormous confidence that we’re going to make it.
We’re on the cusp of a crucial shift to long term forward
planning. Perhaps in our darkest days we weren’t sure that
could happen, but our resilience has come to the fore.
The new look Greater Christchurch Recovery Update will be
bringing you monthly updates from across the region. Our
aim is to provide greater Christchurch with information on
the big picture and the individual steps towards recovery,
helping build a better understanding of the road ahead.
Keep warm and stay safe, and let us know what you think
of the new Update.
LEADERSHIP AND INTEGRATION
0800 RING CERA I 0800 7464 2372 I Fax (03) 963 6382 I www.cera.govt.nz 3
CCDU – Finalising a
Recovery Plan for
Central Christchurch
The Christchurch Central Development Unit was
established within CERA in April to lead and coordinate
the redevelopment of the central city.
The Director of CCDU, Warwick Isaacs, and his team are
tasked with delivering an investable Recovery Plan for
the central city that reflects the vision and the principles
identified by the people of Christchurch through the
Christchurch City Council’s “Share an Idea” campaign.
Thousands of ideas were contributed as to how the central
city might look and feel. A consistent vision emerged – that
of a city which is distinctive, vibrant, green, accessible, and
innovative – and these ideas were brought together in the
Council’s draft Central City Plan.
The task now is to bring that vision to life and CCDU will
work with Christchurch City Council, other government
departments, and the private sector to do this. International
examples of central city redevelopment and rejuvenation
show that success depends on several factors; a clear
blueprint for redevelopment, strong leadership and
coordination, the ability to acquire and consolidate land,
effective funding models, and clarity about timing and
prioritisation.
“The CCDU has 100 days to deliver an investable Recovery
Plan” said Mr Isaacs. “Developing the blueprint is a key first
step as this will determine where major community assets and precincts, often
referred to as ‘anchor projects’, need to be situated.”
The blueprint is being developed by a talented team of local
and international planners, urban designers and architects
in collaboration with CERA staff, secondees from the
Christchurch City Council and with input from stakeholders.
Identifying the location of key facilities such as the new
convention centre, sports and cultural facilities, as well as
strategic city blocks and activity areas will provide confidence
and certainty for investors and developers and a starting point
for designing and rebuilding a vibrant central city that will be a
great place to live, work and play.
In addition to providing a spatial blueprint for the city, the
Recovery Plan will provide a regulatory framework for the city’s
recovery. The statutory powers and functions of the Minister
for Canterbury Earthquake Recovery and the Chief Executive
of CERA can be used to assist CCDU as a unit within CERA
in ensuring the optimal regulatory conditions are in place to
speed up recovery.
The people of Christchurch have been presented with a
unprecedented opportunity – this is not just about a city
rebuild, it is an opportunity to completely rethink the design
and functionality of Christchurch’s central city.
For more information and updates on the unit’s progress visit
our website www.ccdu.govt.nz
Rachel de Lambert from Boffa Miskell talks about
the proposed Avon River Park
Papa Rēhia o Ōtakaroro is Christchurch’s waterfront; a
subtle, natural amenity that contrasts with the imposed
city grid to establish the city’s identity. Since the times
of Ngai Tahu the river has been a commercial vein; a
place of trade, transport and dwelling; there are rich
heritage and cultural threads to draw into the design of
Papa Rēhia o Ōtakaroro
The ‘river park’, Papa Rēhia o Ōtakaroro, has been
identified as one of the 100 day blueprint anchor
projects critical to giving certainty and direction to the
regeneration of the central city.
Proposed Avon River Park
- Papa Rēhia o Ōtakaroro
PROGRESS
UPDATE
100-Day Countdown to the Christchurch Central
Recovery Plan and Blueprint
The work of the CCDU is divided across three
teams.
Design and Planning Team
The Design and Planning Team includes the writers,
planners, architects, and urban designers who are
working on the Recovery Plan. This group’s job is to
develop the blueprint and scope the anchor projects
to be contained within it. They are looking at the
“What?” - What should we design and build to
make the central city a successful one? What does
‘success’ look like? What sort of convention centre
does Christchurch need? To what standards and
size should a metro sports facility be constructed?
What kind of public transport system would make
Christchurch more ‘accessible”?.
Volume 1 of the draft Central City Plan will be
updated to include the work of the Blueprint team,
and Volume 2 will be re-written to ensure the District
Plan provisions provide the right framework to
enable the Volume 1 vision to be achieved.
Investment Group
The Recovery Plan, incorporating the blueprint,
needs to be underpinned by sound economic
rationale and an investment strategy. This strategy
will catalyse investment and positively influence
the pace and ongoing success of the central city’s
recovery. The Investment Team is developing
this strategy to ensure the Recovery Plan is
investable, providing certainty and commercially
viable conditions for the private sector. They are
assessing the options for public sector investments
and the relative impacts of those investments
on the community and the business sector. The
CCDU’s Investment Team is developing linkages
and partnerships within Canterbury, New Zealand
and international private sector business and
investment communities to ensure the development
of Christchurch Central is supported by high-quality
private investment.
Service Delivery Group
This group is working alongside the Design and
Planning team to ensure that as soon as the “what”
is decided and is announced by the Minister, work
can commence soon thereafter. This involves
finalising and putting out for tender Requests For
Proposals (RFPs) for the first of the anchor projects
to go to market and seek out the right people to
build and run these facilities.
“The CCDU has an enormous task, and a relatively
short time frame to get the first phase underway,”
said Mr Isaacs. “As we move swiftly through
the halfway point to the delivery of the 100-day
plan, I am confident the project is well on track to
success.”
The section of the river that traverses the central city will
support an urban character and amenity to complement
the city heart. The Boffa Miskell led Blueprint team is
keen to see the juxtaposition between nature and urban
emphasised and distilled to enhance the presence of the
river in the city and to make it a well used daily resource
for residents, workers and visitors.
The concept for Papa Rēhia o Ōtakaroro is for a duality
of character the true left bank more verdant, naturalistic
and treed; the true right, which enjoys a warmer
desirable aspect, incorporating places that are more
urban and contemporary to draw people to the river and
hold them as part of the city’s life, across the day and
over the seasons.
LEADERSHIP AND INTEGRATION
4 Greater Christchurch Recovery Update - June 2012
BUILT
Places, spaces and connections
The built environment is about places, spaces and
connections: the environment where we live, work,
play and do business. It includes the land, the public
and private buildings above and the infrastructure
below. The rebuild of Greater Christchurch provides
the opportunity to create an inspiring, productive and
integrated region that incorporates the best of design
and technology with a distinctly Canterbury feel.
The Built Environment Recovery Programme aims to help
ensure coordinated and timely repair and recovery, while
looking for opportunities to improve Christchurch’s urban
environment. Our goal is to rebuild greater Christchurch even
better than before.
The Built Environment Recovery Programme covers:
Integration - to ensure all aspects of the rebuild work
towards making a city people want to live in.
Land and Land Use – making sure there is sufficient land in
the Christchurch City, Selwyn and Waimakariri areas zoned
for houses, businesses and infrastructure.
Rebuilding - this programme includes the repair and
rebuild of residential houses, community facilities, public
and commercial buildings underpinning the recovery of
communities across greater Christchurch.
Infrastructure - roads, drinking water supply, storm and
waste water systems as well as telecommunications and
power supply networks suffered extensive damage in the
earthquakes. We need to rebuild the damaged infrastructure
while coordinating with the works programmes being undertaken by
local authorities, telecommunications and power supply
companies and the New Zealand Transport Agency. We are
also working with the all of the network owners to minimise
disruption to residents during the rebuild.
CERA is governing and directing the Built Environment
Recovery Programme, together with its partners
Christchurch City Council and the New Zealand Transport
Agency, the Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild
Team (SCIRT). SCIRT is an alliance which includes the
contractors responsible for rebuilding the horizontal
infrastructure such as roads and water and wastewater
pipes.
We are learning more every day about what has happened
to the region’s buildings and networks and what the phases
of the rebuilding and recovery will look like. Look for regular
updates in this newsletter over the coming months.
Local fibre company, Enable has been busy building
Christchurch’s new ultra-fast broadband network
since November 2011 and is preparing to launch
residential services to the first suburbs in July.
Enable is a partnership between the Government agency
Crown Fibre Holdings Limited and Christchurch City
owned Enable Services Limited, and is playing a major
role in the Government’s ultra-fast broadband initiative.
When the network build is complete, Enable’s fibre
broadband will be available to 180,000 homes and
commercial premises across Christchurch, and in key
Waimakariri and Selwyn District centres.
Today Enable’s network can deliver fibre-based services
to 7,000 Christchurch business premises. In February,
Enable launched a new range of fibre broadband
services available over its network that significantly
Fibre broadband available to first Christchurch homes in July
reduce costs for existing fibre users and allow more
local companies to connect.
July will mark the next major milestone in this massive
infrastructure project – with the launch of wholesale
fibre broadband services to 4,300 homes and
businesses in Halswell. This will be followed quickly by
a launch to over 3,000 properties in the Bishopdale/
Papanui area.
Businesses and families in these areas will be able
to access much faster, better quality broadband
and smarter telephone services from a range of
telecommunications providers. But this is just the start,
with exciting new fibre-based services such as IPTV
expected to be available soon.
What’s more; these broadband services (with speeds
starting at 30Mbps download and 10Mbps upload)
will cost about the same as copper services available
today.
Enable’s ultra-fast broadband network will become
the region’s most important telecommunications
infrastructure asset. It will replace the current copper
network and deliver all telecommunications services
– plus exciting new services – to Christchurch homes
and businesses for at least the next 50 years.
The Built Environment
ENABLE
Phone: 0800 4 FIBRE (0800 434 273)
Web: www.enable.net.nz
Environment
Economy
Community.
A place people
want to live in
Rebuilding
Infrastructure
Land
IntegratIon
enable UnDerPIn
Community
Wellbeing
0800 RING CERA I 0800 7464 2372 I Fax (03) 963 6382 I www.cera.govt.nz 5
One of Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild
Team’s biggest wastewater pipeline replacements
started in March in Bromley’s Linfield Park, close to its
destination, the Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Over the coming months the new pipeline, officially called
Pressure Main 11, will wind its way backwards past Bromley
Park, Eastgate Shopping Centre and Aldwins Road to a
repaired pump station in Randolph Street, Woolston.
This is a key strategic route for about 30% of the city’s
wastewater – all the liquid waste from your washing
machine, kitchen sink, bathroom and toilets. Currently the
line is operating at half its normal capacity and is fragile so it
needs to be upgraded as quickly as possible.
Many people will be affected by this project over the next ten
months, with at least three work sites active at any one time
along its 3.6 kilometre length. Downer Construction, part of
SCIRT, is the contractor for the project.
Road cones track traffic management
Each work project which affects a road or street will have
one or more traffic management plans. SCIRT traffic
engineers audit these plans to ensure everything that can
be done will be done to reduce disruption for residents,
businesses and road users and increase safety. SCIRT has
audited more than 800 plans to date.
What is a traffic management plan?
SCIRT constructors and designers work together from early
in the planning process to decide the best way to do the
work, balancing its impact on people’s lives with the most
cost-effective, resilient infrastructure. Before work begins,
we design and put in place traffic management plans. Safety
is our number one priority, but we also need to minimise
effects on businesses and people.
The Bromley to Woolston pipeline’s traffic
management will address a number of issues,
including:
• Changes to bus routes and stops—we advise
Environment Canterbury/ Metroinfo and information is
provided at bus stops and on www.metroinfo.co.nz
• Disruption for commuters—electronic message boards
and signs will advise road users in advance.
• Impacts for cyclists—reducing speed limits and a
separate cycle lane on Buckleys Road.
• Unavoidable areas of congestion, especially around Eastgate Shopping
Centre. While the pipeline is being replaced on Aldwins and
Buckleys Road, traffic will be reduced to a single lane in each
direction. Be prepared for a slower journey through this stretch
of town from July to September.
Future-proofing as we go
A key role for SCIRT is to provide security and confidence in the
future of Christchurch through resilient infrastructure. For this
project:
• Two of the three wastewater pipes which together used
to service this route will be replaced with one 1.2 metre
diameter, fibreglass, reinforced pipe, increasing durability for
seismic events.
• The new pipe will be laid separately from the remaining,
undamaged, 1.2 diameter pipe, reducing risk from any future
land movements.
• The project has also provided the opportunity to alter the old
pipeline’s route so it can be aligned with other underground
services, which is more efficient for any future maintenance.
Parks matter
Cuthberts Green and Linfield Parks are important parts of
the eastern outdoor environment. To minimise the effect of
construction, work started before the winter sports season in
these places. Work sites were well fenced. The route was also
tweaked to minimise the need to remove trees in parks and
allow sports to continue largely unaffected.
How can I help?
• Keep supporting your local businesses wherever possible.
• Plan journeys ahead and allow extra time.
• See www.transportforchch.govt.nz for tips and road maps
showing slower roads.
• Take extra care around road workers, stick to the speed limit.
• Try a different way to get to work - catch a bus, carpool,
cycle, walk.
• If you are cycling or walking, wear a high-visibility vest,
and check your bike lights.
How to learn more about this project and others:
• Keep an eye out for works notices and newsletters in
your letterbox.
• Visit www.strongerchristchurch.govt.nz, search on a
street name or Pressure Main 11.
• Email PM11@downer.co.nz for this project or other
SCIRT work info@strongerchch.co.nz
• Downer hotline 0800 400 310, SCIRT Call Centre (other
projects) 941 8999.
• In your community you will see SCIRT signs and
information in places like Eastgate Shopping Centre. As
the construction of the pipeline moves through particular
sites, like Bromley Park, SCIRT will host community site
tours.
Big pipe project snakes way through
Bromley, Linwood and Woolston
BUILT
SCIRT
Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team (SCIRT) is responsible for rebuilding horizontal infrastructure
in Christchurch following the earthquakes of 2010 and 2011. SCIRT is made up of local people from many
organisations.
SCIRT
Phone: (03) 931 8999
Email: info@strongerchch.co.nz
Web: www.strongerchristchurch.govt.nz
6 Greater Christchurch Recovery Update - June 2012
Strong interest in seminar
on impact of earthquakes
on local waterways
Around 120 people attended a free public seminar
in Lincoln recently on the impact of the Canterbury
earthquakes on local rivers and the estuary.
Presenters shared information on studies carried out by a
range of consultants as well as staff from Crown Research
Institutes, the University of Canterbury, Lincoln University,
Environment Canterbury, and Christchurch City Council.
The studies were carried out to enable informed decisions to
be made on important issues such as recreational water use,
river bank stabilisation, and restoring flows.
These studies have shown the character of many of
Christchurch’s waterways changed following the 4 September
2010 and 22 February 2011 earthquakes and subsequent
aftershocks.
Following the February earthquake large volumes of untreated
wastewater were discharged in to the lower Avon River/
Ōtākaro, the Heathcote River/Ōpāwaho, the Avon-Heathcote
Estuary/Ihutai, and the sea. The discharges affected the water
chemistry, which in turn affected the local ecology including
vegetation, fish, invertebrates and micro-organisms.
River bed levels also changed, river banks collapsed, and
there were significant changes to the bed of the Avon-
Heathcote Estuary/Ihutai.
The seminar concluded with CCC, Environment Canterbury
and SCIRT outlining the activities planned to restore vital
wastewater systems and improve the quality of local
waterways.
As well as repairing and replacing ‘horizontal infrastructure’
(water and wastewater pipes and roads), the initiatives include
removal of sediment from rivers. Christchurch City Council
has been focussing on removing sediment from areas where
flow has been affected (flooding is a potential risk with winter
coming on).
All waterways are generally back to normal quality, and there
have been no recorded discharges of sewage into the rivers
since the beginning of the year.
It is advised, however, that contact with waterways is
avoided for 48 hours after heavy rainfall due to the risk of
contamination.
Halswell
drainage
Significant work on the drains and waterways in
the Halswell drainage district means they are on
track to restoring pre–earthquake capacity. The
worst affected areas and those providing the
largest benefit to the scheme were focused on
first.
Liquefied sand affected approximately two kilometres
of the 114-kilometre drainage network in September
2010, with less damage from the February, June
and December 2011 quakes. The sand was quickly
removed by Environment Canterbury contractors
following each of the quakes.
Engineers initially thought a substantial amount of
river-widening and bank-stabilising work would be
required, but dredging of the river has largely restored
normal river levels in most areas.
The more significant effect on the system was
liquefied sand and lateral spread affecting 25
kilometres of the 42-kilometre long Halswell River,
causing water levels to rise about half a metre in
many areas.
Aerial surveying and analysis completed by
Environment Canterbury revealed the river’s flood
capacity to be less affected by lateral spread and
the cracked river banks to be less vulnerable than
originally thought.
Because of these findings the estimated cost of work
required to repair the drainage district is now $1.35
million, down from $3.44 million. The Government will
meet a proportion of these costs.
Repair work for the 2011/2012 year is now complete,
with a second round of river dredging and further
minor bank stability work to be completed in the
summer of 2012/13.
NATURAL
In the next six to nine months, EQC will complete
geotechnical drilling in Technical Category 3 properties
in Christchurch’s eastern suburbs before moving west of
the city to complete the drilling programme.
The geotechnical assessments are being undertaken on TC3
properties where there is confirmed foundation damage and
where specially designed foundation repairs may be required.
Testing won’t necessarily be needed on every affected
property in order to get adequate information. But enough
tests will be done to ensure EQC can settle all claims
where foundation designs must meet the recently released
Department of Building and Housing guidelines and the
building consent requirements of local councils.
EQC’s General Manager Customer Services, Bruce
Emson, says the TC3 geotechnical investigations are about
establishing the ground conditions so the most appropriate
foundation requirements can be determined for each property
and costs can be confirmed so building claims can be settled.
“TC3 building claims are distinct from the land reports that
are being sent out soon. These relate to actual land damage
and have no bearing on what’s needed to make a satisfactory
foundation repair,” Mr Emson says.
“Many houses have foundation damage, and yet there is no
EQC’s TC3 drilling gets underway
EQC Assessors will
leave calling cards
when they visit your
property:
Today EQC geotechnics visited your property to mark out the drill site for a:
The area marked is clear of underground cables, wires and pipes.
Photographs taken will be used as a reference when reinstating your
property to its original condition.
Drilling will commence within the next three weeks with reinstatement
undertaken soon after.
In the meantime if you have any questions regarding this process please
don’t hesitate to contact EQC on 0800 DAMAGE (0800 326 243).
100mm diameter
borehole
20mm diameter CPT
(Cone Penetration Test)
www.eqc.govt.nz
EQC Drilling Programme Progress
Areas Completed Areas in
Progress
Next to be assigned
in order from top to
bottom
Christchurch Christchurch Christchurch
Nil - work began on
19 March 2012
North New
Brighton
Richmond
Aranui Shirley
New Brighton
Parklands
Waimakariri Queenspark Waimakariri
NIL Waimairi Beach NIL
Selwyn Selwyn
NIL Waimakariri NIL
NIL
Selwyn
NIL
damage to the land. The reverse can also be
true: the property has damaged land, and yet the building is
intact,” he says.
The assessment will have two components: on-site drilling
and an offsite geotechnical analysis.
Drill rigs are already working in North New Brighton and
preparatory work is beginning in Aranui, New Brighton,
Parklands, Queenspark and Waimairi Beach.
The drill results will require analysis by a geotechnical
engineer in order to establish the best foundation solution
for the property. Once analysis is completed, structural
engineers may be required to design foundation solutions
on a case by case basis.
EQC has already repaired more than 1000 houses in TC3
where there is no foundation damage.
Details of the drilling programme can be found on EQC’s
website at: http://canterbury.eqc.govt.nz/news/wherewe-
are-working
EQC
Phone: 0800 Damage
(0800 326 243)
Web: www.eqc.govt.nz
ENVIRONMENT CANTERBURY
Phone: (03) 353 9007
Web: www.ecan.govt.nz
Environment Canterbury staff member installing a dissolved oxygen probe in the Heathcote River at Ferrymead.
0800 RING CERA I 0800 7464 2372 I Fax (03) 963 6382 I www.cera.govt.nz 7
Getting back to school
Community Energy Action Charitable Trust
1. Stop draughts
It’s hard to heat a house where the heat is flying out
through the cracks faster than your heater can make
the heat. V-seal is suitable for uneven gaps around
windows and doors, while door sausages can stop
draughts under doors.
2. Keep the house dry
A damp house is harder to heat and can cause health
problems. Ventilate and avoid drying clothes inside,
and install extractor fans in the bathroom and kitchen.
3. Get good curtains and curtain rails
Generously sized and lined or thermal backed curtains
as well as enclosed curtain rails or pelmets help keep
the heat in. If you cannot afford good curtains, contact
the Curtain Bank for assistance on (03) 379 6959.
4. Use DIY window insulation
DIY window insulation is a clear plastic film taped to
your window frame which acts like double glazing
but isn’t nearly as expensive. Being non-permanent
it’s ideal for tenants and for properties that may be
demolished.
5. Check existing insulation
If you had (emergency) repairs done in the roof, check
the insulation. Insulation that has become wet will not
insulate properly even after it has dried out.
6. Insulate
If your house is weathertight, you can get it insulated.
Most banks offer mortgage top-ups for as little
as $7 a week and subsidies are available for low
incomes including landlords with low income tenants.
Community Energy Action has subsidies for all
incomes with surpluses going to their charitable
programmes.
7. Get help to keep warm
A cold house affects your health. Ask Work and
Income for assistance with energy bills, ask EQC for
emergency repairs on heating or apply for the Red
Cross winter heating grant.
8. Heating in a very draughty house
For a very damaged, draughty house radiant heaters
such as bar heaters and logburners are best: they
heat objects rather than the air.
9. Get efficient heating
There are heating subsidies for all incomes, with
higher subsidies for Community Services Card
holders. Heat pumps are one of the most efficient
heating appliances. Avoid the use of portable gas
heaters as they are very expensive to run, will make
your house damp and can be dangerous.
10. For more information visit:
• www.cea.co.nz or call the free Energy Advice
Service on 0800 388 588.
• www.healthychristchurch.org.nz
• www.eeca.govt.nz
• www.eqr.co.nz
Shake, Rattle and Record
Independent radio station RDU 98.5 FM lost their broadcast studio in the earthquakes – but that hasn’t stopped
them spreading the love of music. Now, thanks to the station’s collaboration with the Christchurch Methodist
Mission and Play It Strange Trust, Christchurch year 7 and 8 students have the opportunity to record their own
songs.
The sessions are the latest in a series of musical events the Methodist Mission has sponsored to lift the spirits of young
people in the wake of last year’s earthquakes. RDU’s mobile recording studio is on hand to record students performing at
their schools every Thursday until the end of August. The first recording session took place at Linwood Intermediate on
the 24th of May.
Play It Strange Christchurch coordinator Jeff Fulton says the mobile studio encourages students to experience live
recording and each performer will receive a CD of their performance that they can take home to share with their parents
and friends.
“We can record acoustic guitar, a choir or ukulele orchestra, or even a four or five piece rock band. We will also have a
hip hop backing track so the students can have a go at rapping or singing over the top of a set of beats.”
Jeff says the mobile recording studio itself is an example of the innovative responses Cantabrians have made to the
earthquakes.
“RDU lost their broadcast studio at Canterbury University after the earthquakes and responded by building this mobile
replacement. It’s the perfect way to give students an introduction to the world of live recording.”
SOCIAL / CULTURAL
The next phase of the journey to renew the education
network in greater Christchurch in the wake of the
Canterbury earthquakes is about to begin.
The many submissions from groups and individuals across
the education sector and community generally are now
being analysed prior to the adoption of the final Education
Renewal Recovery Programme.
This document, along with land, building and demographic
information, will inform decision-making around the renewal
of the network, which has been significantly impacted by the
events of 2010 and 2011.
Many education centres whether they are early childhood
centres, schools or tertiary providers were damaged in some
way or their rolls affected by the movement of people out
of the city.
Around five thousand learners have still not returned to
school in greater Christchurch and more than 1500 have
changed schools, a further thousand are living in red zones,
and more in white zones.
Even without adjustment for the further damage from
the December 2011 event, the total cost of repairs and
remediation on state and integrated schools could be
between $500 - $750million over ten years.
Independent schools and tertiary institutions also face huge
bills.
While the Ministry of Education has worked with the sector
to ensure continued teaching and learning, the earthquakes
have quite literally changed the educational landscape in
greater Christchurch.
Schools and early childhood centres are no longer
necessarily where they are needed.
Inevitably, there will have to be some rationalisation of
facilities in areas that have been depopulated and we need
to determine how best to provide for the needs of other
Top 10 tips to
keep warm
areas seeing significant, even dramatic growth, sooner than
expected.
Because there is much that is still unknown – around land
and population movement – planning for these outcomes is
being done in a context that is still changing.
There are some big decisions to make.
Decisions taken today must meet the needs of all the young
people of greater Christchurch - their families and whanau,
local communities – and for generations to come.
There will be no magic wand and no simple fix.
But by taking the opportunity now to reshape education to
engage the full diversity of learners, greater Christchurch
can achieve a distinctive set of advantages - social, cultural
and economic – and ensure greater prosperity through
education.
It is clear from discussions at focus groups and forums
in recent weeks, that while appreciating the challenges
ahead, the community also sees the earthquakes, albeit
devastating, as an opportunity to effect change.
The call has been to seize that opportunity – to try some
new things, things that might help the region not only
recover, but thrive – and to give priority to solutions that will
deliver the greatest benefits for learners.
The draft Education Renewal Recovery Programme was
all about how to ensure the future education landscape
supports all learners to achieve their fullest potential.
The next step will be around how the changes the
community has conveyed, during engagement and
consultation they want, are implemented. These decisions
will be made by the Ministry of Education and other
agencies, including the Tertiary Education Commission and
the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority, when all
the necessary information relating to land, buildings and
demographics is known.
Children from Linwood Intermediate take part in the first session of the RDU mobile recording unit.
8 Greater Christchurch Recovery Update - June 2012
Caption to go here
COUNCILS
Waimakariri District – progress update
The Waimakariri District Council’s Earthquake Recovery
Programme is continuing to make progress across the
District.
Temporary business accommodation for displaced Rangiora
Town Centre businesses is due to be completed soon.
Kaiapoi also has its first temporary shop popping up in the
Kaiapoi Working Mens’ Club carpark and the Council will
continue to assess the need for more temporary business
accommodation.
In early May the Christchurch Earthquake Appeal Trust
approved funding of up to $200,000 towards the temporary
building accommodation projects in Rangiora and Kaiapoi.
Funding will be used for public amenities including lighting,
walkways, walkway covers, general signage, landscaping
and the reinstatement of gardens and surfaces when the
temporary accommodation is removed.
As part of the Ten Year Plan deliberations, Waimakariri
District Councillors have approved funding for earthquake
strengthening and the establishment of a Performing Arts
Centre at the Rangiora Town Hall and the re-build and
extension of the Kaiapoi Library/Museum complex.
The Kaiapoi Town Centre Integrated Transport Plan is also
progressing. The Williams Street Bridge Improvements Project
and the rebuild of the earthquake damaged section of Williams
Street north of the Kaiapoi Bridge, including the Charles Street
roundabout, has been approved and detailed design work is
proceeding.
Contractors have been asked to register their interest in
tendering for the construction stage of this project. Council’s
Kaiapoi Town Centre team is also working with the Kaiapoi
Community Board on the development of key features for the
town centre including footpath surfacing, street furniture and
lighting.
After two inspiring and creative brainstorm sessions, the
Kaiapoi Rubble Rousing Team has been formed – a bunch
of determined, innovative and eager North Cantabs who are
committed to gap filling, greening the rubble and introducing
some colour into the hard hit areas of Kaiapoi.
Progress updates are available through the New Foundations
website at www.newfoundations.org.nz
Safety first for creative containers and
portacoms: shops, cafes and bars.
The conversion of containers and portacoms is an
opportunity to create amazing temporary buildings
which are also as safe as possible, says Council
Resource Consents and Building Policy Manager,
Steve McCarthy.
“The building consent process puts safety first by
requiring that building standards are met. If people
come to us early we’ll help them understand what
they need to do from the very start to get it right.”
Under the Building Act structures such as
containers or portacoms, which have been
converted to house a temporary business, are
defined as buildings.
“Get your first round of ideas going with your
designer or architect. The next step is to request a
pre-application meeting with our staff.”
Mr McCarthy says it is worth considering working
with a professional designer or architect who is
experienced in this kind of project.
The Building Act and building code set out
minimum standards for buildings, including
temporary buildings such as converted containers
and portacoms. Considerations include secure
foundations, fire safety features, access, a sound
structure which will last for its intended life,
ventilation and sanitation such as toilet facilities
being properly connected to wastewater (sewage)
systems, are just some of the considerations.
A pre-application meeting will also help owners of
existing businesses who want to relocate, find out
if they can do so at a particular site. For customers
proposing a new business the meeting will explore
if they will need a resource consent under the
Resource Management Act. This process checks
that the proposed business activities would be
suitable for an area of the city.
The converted building will also need a Code
Compliance Certificate so it can be legally used.
Depending on the business that is planned for
a temporary building, owners will need to meet
the conditions of any relevant legislation and
bylaws for the industry such as Health and Liquor
licensing for cafes and bars.
For more information or to request a preapplication
meeting visit www.ccc.govt.nz/
goahead
Container City…
UPDATE FROM THE
CHRISTCHURCH CITY COUNCIL
Selwyn District Council scoops
planning awards
A change to the Selwyn District Plan which will free up land
for people displaced by the Canterbury earthquakes has
scooped the New Zealand Planning Institute 2012 supreme
award.
Plan Change 7 is designed to set new district plan rules and
guidance for more houses and housing types in Rolleston and
Lincoln, with land rezoned for 8800 new households. It took
top honours in the “Nancy Northcroft Planning Practice Award”
and won a Best Practice Award, as did Selwyn’s Commercial
Design Guide.
The Best Practice Awards recognise projects in five different
planning categories. The Nancy Northcroft Award is the New
Zealand Planning Institute’s highest award for excellence in
planning practice and recognises “outstanding creativity and
innovation and the quality of the presentation of the project”.
Consultants that assisted Council staff were also
acknowledged. Planit Associates shared the Supreme Award
and Best Practice Award for Plan Change 7 and Context Urban
Design shared the Best Practice Award for the Commercial
Design Guide.
The New Zealand Planning Institute commented that Plan
Change 7 “used meaningful consultation and negotiation with
affected landowners”. The Planning Institute was particularly
impressed with the quality of the material and the presentation
of Plan Change 7 and commented that the project “is at the
forefront of planning practice in New Zealand”.
The work on the Commercial Design Guide was described as
“groundbreaking, particularly for small towns and suburbs in
New Zealand”.
Planners Gabi Wolfer (SDC), Justine Ashley (Planit), Cameron Wood (SDC) and David Hattam (SDC) proudly display the New
Zealand Planning Institute’s Nancy Northcroft Award and two Best Practice awards received recently for work on the Plan Change
7 project.
CHRISTCHURCH CITY COUNCIL
Phone: (03) 941 8999
Email: info@ccc.govt.nz
Web: www.ccc.govt.nz
SELWYN DISTRICT COUNCIL
Phone: (03) 347 2800
Web: www.selwyn.govt.nz
Waimakariri District Council
Phone: (03) 311 8900
Web: www.waimakariri.govt.nz

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