Banks Peninsula facilities to close

Christchurch City Council is today (Friday 5 October) closing four community facilities on the Banks Peninsula after receiving the results of engineering assessments that show they are earthquake-prone.

The Council is closing Okains Bay Community Centre, Duvauchelle Community Hall, Little Akaloa Community Hall and the Little Akaloa Clubrooms, after receiving quantitative Detailed Engineering Evaluation (DEE) assessments of the buildings. The Little Akaloa Community Hall and Clubrooms are on the same site.

All the buildings have been assessed as having a seismic capacity of less than 34 percent of the New Building Standard (NBS) and are therefore earthquake-prone. They are being closed in line with an agreed approach by the Council’s elected members that all buildings with a seismic capacity of less than 34 percent should not remain occupied.

Although engineers say that the halls and the clubrooms have incurred little or no earthquake damage, all four have no subfloor (underfloor) bracing, which is considered to be a major structural weakness.
Council Corporate Services General Manager Paul Anderson says the Council is mindful of the disruption that this will cause to the communities affected.

“We are conscious that closing these buildings will be a huge blow to these communities but, with the knowledge that these buildings are earthquake-prone, the Council must take action to ensure that residents are not put at risk in the event of future earthquakes.

“We will be asking engineers to urgently develop strengthening options for these buildings and to determine how much the required work may cost. Once we have this information we will take recommendations to elected members to make decisions. We will ensure that community representatives are kept well informed of progress.”

For more information about the Council’s Detailed Engineering Evaluations, which are being carried out as part of its Facilities Rebuild Plan project, visit www.ccc.govt.nz/facilitiesrebuild