Demolition work speeds up

Work has finally begun on the demolition of the earthquake-damaged Hotel Grand Chancellor.

The building is in the midst of several other demolitions currently under way. But the aim of Fletcher Building is to bring down the Hotel Grand Chancellor floor by floor without damaging surrounding undamaged buildings.

Only about half the buildings destined for destruction have been brought down. Work has yet to begin on the biggest high rises such as the PricewaterhouseCoopers Centre in Armagh St.

During the past weekend, thousands of Cantabrians walked through fenced walkways from Cashel Mall to Cathedral Square where they viewed the Christ Church Cathedral, which appears destined for demolition.

On the residential front, last week Minister Gerry Brownlee announced 417 homes in Brooklands have been zoned red. Many residents were dismayed, including some who had just completed building new homes that are undamaged. Disgruntled homeowners believe the government and local authorities are making decisions based on the estimated costs of continuing services to affected neighbourhoods.

More than 6000 homes in greater Christchurch have now been red zoned and bulldozers are poised to raze entire suburbs in February. Meanwhile, those neighbourhoods are looking increasing decrepit as residents leave.

Rebuilding work is still in the future as is evident in low building consent numbers, a 50% slump in sawn timber sales, and further reports about difficulties obtaining insurance. A local hotel owner in Kaiapoi is just one of countless local businesses unable to get on with the rebuild due to the insurance gridlock. In this instance, the owner is unable to continue building work, which was due to be completed before Christmas because he is unable to get insurance cover on a $200,000-300,000 bank loan. This is despite the fact that he has put $900,000 of his own funds into rebuilding the hotel to the highest building code standards.

In the week leading up to the general election, Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee highlighted National Bank regional trends data showing Canterbury’s economy grew 1.8% in the September quarter, following 2.6% growth in the June quarter. However, economists say this was due to primary exports rather than a rise in business within Christchurch.

Schools continue to report a trickle of people moving away. In mid-December the Earthquake Recovery Authority will end work for 1000 assessors. Their future employment will depend on the speed of initiating the rebuild, which is not expected until at least mid or late 2012.