Media Release – 03 December 2013

Crown and Council Reach Cost Share Agreement

A cost-sharing agreement has been reached between the Crown and the Waimakariri District Council (WDC) which finalizes arrangements for Council-owned land and property, and repairs to horizontal infrastructure in the district’s Residential Red Zone.

“Echoing the agreement made with the Christchurch City Council earlier this year, this cost sharing announcement will see the Crown contribute a total of $58m, which gives certainty to the Waimakariri District”, says the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority’s deputy chief executive Implementation, Warwick Isaacs.

“All of the WDC owned land in the red zone which is not required for future use, will be transferred to the Crown at no cost. The Council will control the insurance claims over buildings in the area, with any land insurance claims come back to the Crown. This agreement also means the Crown takes over responsibility for any demolition that’s needed and the ongoing maintenance of the area.”

Mr Isaacs says while decisions have yet to be made about future use of the red zone, there will be a consultation process with the WDC and the community to make sure the right decisions are made. And he says if the Crown ever decides to sell the land the Council will be paid out a portion of the proceeds of that sale.

“It’s estimated that investment of almost $50 million is needed for repairs to the horizontal infrastructure inside the red zone in the Waimakariri area. Today’s agreement will see the Crown contribute $29.9 million towards this, with the rest largely coming from insurance claims.”

The Crown will also contribute 60% of the costs associated with removing unnecessary roading and repairing those roads that are needed. The cost of this has been estimated at $3.4million with the Crown share being $2.04million. And the Crown will provide a further $7million towards the total cost of repairing and replacing Waimakariri District Council’s earthquake-damaged community facilities.

“I’m pleased that we’ve been able to come to an agreement that will really help the Waimakariri District continue with its recovery. The investment by the Crown is a strong indication of CERA’s commitment to continue to work with Waimakariri District Council to provide any support we can’, says Mr Isaacs.

ENDS

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