The Canterbury earthquakes of 2010/2011 and the ensuing Royal Commission enquiry resulted in public scrutiny of the adequacy of current policies and regulations for addressing earthquake-prone buildings.
Whakatāne District Council's Earthquake-Prone Buildings Programme is a response to proposed Government legislation covering the identification, assessment and strengthening requirements for earthquake-prone buildings.
Council-owned buildings notified
Five Council-owned buildings are having notices placed on them to inform people of their earthquake-prone status.
The five buildings (four buildings and one structure) are the Te Teko War Memorial Hall, Waimana Nukuhou Hall, the Whakatane Rugby Park Grandstand and two commercial buildings at 58 The Strand and 39 McAlister Street. Legislation requires assessment of buildings for earthquake vulnerability. This work has led to five Council-owned public facilities being deemed earthquake-prone.
Read the full media release and FAQ sheet
Initial evaluation procedures carried out on buildings within the Whakatāne CBD area indicate that 67 percent are likely to be earthquake-prone, meaning those buildings may not meet 34 percent of the New Building Standard under the proposed legislation.
The Council has offered to fund the ground study of the Harbour Board land within the Whakatāne CBD and project-manage detailed seismic assessments on behalf of participating building owners. This is provided that the owners of at least 50 percent of the buildings on Harbour Board land commit to carrying out a detailed seismic assessment of their buildings within 12 months of the ground study.
If you are a building owner within the study area and wish to register your interest in this project, download the Earthquake Fact Sheet below. There are many advantages of the collaborative approach to the study, and these are also outlined in the fact sheet.
- Earthquake Fact Sheet - (PDF, 200 KB)
Timetable
Early 2014
A consultant will meet with individual building owners to discuss the earthquake-prone building programme and obtain registrations of interest.
End of February
The Council will obtain accurate costings for ground study and detailed seismic assessments.
March
The Council will decide whether to proceed with ground assessment based on the number of registrations of interest received. The Council may also invite other landowners to participate, at their cost, by instructing the engineering consultancy.
The Council will engage an engineering consultancy to undertake the ground study.
March-May
A consultant will seek a commitment from building owners to translate their initial registration of interest into a binding agreement (to be supplied by the Council).
August 2014-May 2015
On behalf of building owners, the Council will engage an engineering consultancy to undertake the detailed seismic assessments at the building owners' cost.