Demolition of Lichfield Street Carpark to begin

Christchurch City Council will begin demolishing Lichfield Street Carpark later this month.

The demolition of the carpark will begin on Monday 30 March and is expected to be complete in early October. It is proposed the empty site will be turned into a temporary carpark in time for NZ Cup and Show Week. The Council's engineers have confirmed that the carpark building is severely earthquake-damaged and uneconomic to repair.

The Council announced last year that the carpark would be demolished. However, this was subject to reinsurers completing assessments of the building needed to finalise the Council's insurance claim.

Insurers have now advised that that they do not need samples from the building to finalise the Council's insurance claim, meaning the Council can engage demolition company Shilton and Brown to undertake the work following a successful tender process last year. The Council and reinsurers will undertake joint investigations of the building's ground beams as part of the demolition work for insurance purposes.

Council Unit Manager Anchor Projects Liam Nolan says the Council recognises retailers' frustration that the carpark has not come down sooner.

"We realise that certainty over this site is vital for the recovery of the Central City retail sector and we've been working behind the scenes to progress this demolition as quickly as possible. We're really pleased to get to this point," he says.

Replacing Lichfield Street Carpark continues to be a priority for the Council. The Council has recently released an Expression of Interest (EOI) encouraging the market to put forward options for the Lichfield Street Carpark site. The EOI closes on Wednesday 25 March.

The Council is also continuing to work with CCDU over the long-term provision of car parking to support the retail sector as part of the Draft Christchurch Central Parking Plan, which contributes to the An Accessible City work programme. The replacement of Lichfield Street is identified as a key priority in the Plan.

A comprehensive traffic management plan will be in place while demolition is underway and will take into account other work being carried out in the area. It is proposed Lichfield Street will be reduced to two lanes during the demolition. The Council will be closely monitoring the situation and making every effort to minimise disruption to commuters.

© Scoop Media