Nine homes along river bought out by council so far
The Christchurch City Council has so far bought out nine homes at risk of frequent flooding along the Heathcote River.
The move is part of a $16.5 million buyout of riverside homes, including some that have flooded above the floor four times since
2010 and 2011 earthquakes. Twenty-four homes have so far been identified as being eligible for a buyout under the council’s flood-intervention policy (FIP), but this figure could rise because several more homes were still being assessed to determine their eligibility, a council spokeswoman said.
It was originally predicted up to
35 homes could be eligible. Seventeen offers have been made to homeowners and nine have been accepted.
Homeowners have 12 months to accept the voluntary offer.
The purchase price for the properties was capped at $750,000 for individual houses and $500,000 per unit.
The buyouts were part of a more than $70m programme to address flooding issues in the area.
The council last week decided to fast-track a $16.5m dredging programme that would remove about
60,000 cubic metres of material from a 4-kilometre stretch of the river by 2020. That was enough mud and silt to fill 24 olympic-sized swimming pools.
Staff would also continue work on four new storage basins in the upper Heathcote at a cost of $41m.
Residents have called on the council to do something about the flooding in the area, with many reporting high levels of anxiety when it rains.
At least two homeowners have reported being unable to get insurance for flooding unless the council could demonstrate it was undertaking work to reduce the risk.
The FIP was used for the first time in 2016 to buy six Flockton Basin properties the council could not protect from flooding.
The council spent $2m buying those homes, which were being demolished and would eventually be sold.
New homes could be built on the Flockton sections, but not on the Heathcote sections.
Unlike the Flockton properties, the majority of the Heathcote River properties were in a high flood hazard management area and no rebuilding would be allowed.
In some cases, the vacant sites could be appropriate for sale, but even if resold, no new structures could be built.