News from Wellington City Council
Mayor Tory Whanau says the announcement of a four-year extension and the bringing forward of the review of the earthquake-prone building will be a welcome relief for many Wellingtonians.

“This is an extremely complex issue. New Zealand must have a system for strengthening buildings that is fit for purpose. The closure of earthquake-prone buildings come with significant social and economic costs, resulting in an often unaffordable and unsustainable position for building owners” says Mayor Whanau.

“I met Minister Penk earlier this year and shared the astronomical costs Wellington residents, Council and business owners face to strengthen buildings. Without change there was a real risk Council would be required to close some buildings with a crippling effect on owners and the city as a whole.

“I am glad the Minister has moved quickly to provide owners with this extension. Wellington City Council’s Resilient Buildings Team will continue to support building owners to strengthen their buildings. We will also offer whatever assistance we can to help with the review.

At present, there are around 300 buildings in Wellington that must be strengthened by 2027, a further 300 or so will need to be done by the early 2030s.

Pukehīnau Lambton Ward Councillor Iona Pannett said that many inner-city residents have made it clear to the Council and the Government that under the current system, it isn’t feasible for them to strengthen their buildings due to costs, often in the hundreds of thousands.

“A lot has changed since 2016 and it is timely for the Government to do this review, I hope they engage with affected owners and seek the best technical advice from Aotearoa and overseas.”

“While we must build a more resilient city, the current regime is simply not working and this review must look at how we build for more resilience at an affordable rate.”

Report from RNZ
Inner City Wellington seismic spokesperson Geraldine Murphy told Morning Report they have been calling for a review for five years.

“The compliance burdens of this legislation particularly on apartment owners which are just homeowners like everybody else are risky, expensive, complex and made in multi-owner environments.”

Murphy said seismic rules in New Zealand are different to every other jurisdiction she has looked at. “They don’t have this one size fits all [approach], where you go and access a building and you say ‘ah that bit it is earthquake-prone’, therefore your building is earthquake-prone.”

She said the building standards need to be more pragmatic and realistic about the seismic risk that was trying to be addressed.

McKee Fehl managing director Maurice Clark told RNZ the extension was an acceptance of the current environment for the building industry. Clark said the local and national sector faces high interest rates, high insurance, high regulation and low demand.

He said his company is working on two heritage buildings that are struggling to get tenants. “You can’t just spend a heap of money to strengthen something, and it just sits there empty.”

Clark said there is a need for change in the regulation of earthquake strengthening.

Continue reading this article at the original source from Scoop Wellington