21 DCC buildings likely earthquakeprone so far
SAMMY'S, the University Oval grandstand and Maori Hill Coronation Hall headline a list of 21 Dunedin City Council buildings considered to be earthquakeprone.
The council has started work to identify earthquakeprone buildings across the city, and assessments had already been completed for 63 councilowned buildings.
Reports on 21 of these showed they were likely to be classified as earthquakeprone, a list which also included the Caledonian grandstand, the Moana Pool hydroslides, the Caledonian Gymnasium and the Andersons Bay Crematorium building.
The list was topped up with a variety of council owned clubrooms, changing rooms, storage and commercial buildings.
The other 42 buildings assessed were not earthquakeprone, the Dunedin Railway Station being included in this group.
Council chief executive Sandy Graham said Dunedin had been classified as a low seismic risk area, and the council , as the regulator, had until 2032 to identify earthquakeprone buildings.
If buildings were classified as such there would be a period of 35 years allowed to under
take strengthening work to bring them up to the new building standards.
‘‘It's important to remember that just because a building is
earthquakeprone, it doesn't mean it's dangerous or can't be used as normal.’’
In the case of Moana Pool, the hydroslides were the only part of the complex that was considered earthquakeprone, and there were already plans in motion for those to be replaced in 2022.
There were an estimated 3000 buildings that were likely to require assessment, and building owners will be contacted by the council's building services team if theirs requires an assessment.
Building consent fees will be waived for applications for earthquake strengthening work for earthquakeprone buildings, and owners of heritage buildings could apply to the Dunedin Heritage Fund for funding for remedial work.
Affected buildings must display a notice proclaiming their earthquakeprone status until strengthening work had been completed, and they were entered on a national register of such buildings.