. Media release

Newmarket Business Association

Monday, 16 May 2011

Newmarket calls for calm over Council Earthquake Report

Newmarket Business Association Chief Executive, Ashley Church, has called for calm and common sense following the release of a report which lists 393 `earth-quake prone` buildings in Auckland.

The report, which has been released by the Auckland Council, claims that character buildings in many of Auckland's old town centres could tumble and kill in an earthquake.

The list of pre-1940 commercial buildings includes many buildings erected at the turn of the 19th century, and covers such centres as Newmarket, Mt Eden, Kingsland, Balmoral, Mt Albert, Mt Roskill, Epsom, Remuera, Parnell, Ponsonby, Jervois Rd, Karangahape Rd, Queen St and the central city.

The report has drawn outrage from some business quarters with building owners and business advocates expressing fear that the Council will demand remedial work to be completed to increase the earthquake readiness of these buildings at a cost of many thousands of dollars.

However, Mr Church has urged business interests to take a step back and see the bigger picture.

"In the wake of the devastating events and loss of life which occurred in Christchurch in February it's only reasonable that the Council would move to see how exposed we are here in Auckland. The Building Act defines earthquake-prone buildings as those being below 33 percent of the design level of a new building. Clearly, the lesson from Christchurch is that that level is too low".

Church applauded the Council for taking a responsible approach and noted that Engineers are merely arguing that this threshold should be doubled from 33 percent to 67 percent of the strength of a new building - not that the affected buildings should be brought up to the equivalent of modern standards. He also noted that the current list is part of an earthquake-prone policy legally required under the Building Act and that not all the buildings had yet been properly assessed.

"While it's in everyone's interest to ensure that our buildings are as safe as possible and practical - the list may well be considerably shorter by the time all assessments have been completed".

Church is encouraging a reasonable approach to any requirement for remedial work on those buildings which are on the finalised list and has welcomed suggestions that Council will allow the owners of earthquake-prone buildings to reduce risk over time - in some cases allowing up to 34 years to complete the work.

"Obviously this degree of latitude is dependent on the relative safety of any particular building - but this sort of pragmatic case-by-case approach will mean that property owners can plan with confidence and won't take a major hit on the value of their assets".

ends

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