Parapets, facades to be secured on 38 streets

The 38 streets where building owners need to secure unreinforced masonry (URM) facades and parapets from Hurunui to Wellington within a year have been identified, Building and Construction Minister Dr Nick Smith says.

“The Kaikōura Earthquake has increased the seismic risks in Wellington, Lower Hutt, Blenheim and Hurunui over the next three years. It is therefore prudent to require them to be secured and to help building owners with funding of these high-risk, URM parapets and facades to secure them.

“The 38 streets have been selected by the councils on the basis of pedestrian and vehicular traffic and where the risks from URM parapets and facades are greatest. The next step is for councils to formally notify the building owners affected. Some owners may already have taken corrective work.

“The Government has established a $3 million fund to help building owners with the cost of securing the parapets and facades. I have talked to the Mayors of the four councils involved and am pleased that all have confirmed that they will make financial contributions to this fund, bringing it to about $4.5m. The fund will be used to provide a 50 per cent subsidy for the work up to a maximum grant of $15,000 for a façade and $10,000 for a parapet to help building owners with the cost, estimated at $9m.”

The Government is using its powers under the Hurunui/Kaikōura Earthquakes Recovery Act 2016 to require building owners to do the necessary securing work within 12 months.

“Many of the building owners in these four districts will already be aware of the parapets and façades which need to be secured, but notices from councils to the owners will officially start the clock for the 12-month deadline for the securing work to be done,” Dr Smith says.

“Falling unreinforced masonry is a major risk to people on the street during an earthquake as we saw in the 2011 Canterbury earthquake, when it claimed the lives of 39 people. It’s essential we’re proactive about this work so as to avoid a repeat of that terrible tragedy."

The targeted URM buildings are in the following streets:

Hurunui District
Markham Street, Amberley
Mountainview Road, Culverden

Hutt City
Cuba Street, Lower Hutt
High Street, Lower Hutt
Hillary Court (being the area formed within Hillary Court, Vogel Street, and Treadwell Street), Naenae, Lower Hutt
That part of Jackson Street between Cuba Street and Petone Avenue, Petone, Lower Hutt
Waiwhetu Road, Waterloo, Lower Hutt

Marlborough District
Alfred Street, Blenheim
High Street, Blenheim

Wellington City
Adelaide Road, Berhampore/Mt Cook/Newtown, Wellington
Bond Street, Wellington Central, Wellington
Courtenay Place, Te Aro, Wellington
Coutts Street, Kilbirnie, Wellington
Cuba Street, Te Aro, Wellington
Dixon Street, Te Aro, Wellington
Dundas Street, Seatoun, Wellington
Egmont Street, Te Aro, Wellington
Eva Street, Te Aro, Wellington
Ganges Road, Khandallah, Wellington
Ghuznee Street, Te Aro, Wellington
Hobart Street, Miramar, Wellington
Holland Street, Te Aro, Wellington
Hutt Road, Pipitea, Wellington
Kilbirnie Crescent, Kilbirnie, Wellington
Lambton Quay, Wellington Central, Wellington
Manners Street, Te Aro, Wellington
Miramar Avenue, Miramar, Wellington
Riddiford Street, Newtown, Wellington
Rintoul Street, Newtown, Wellington
Taranaki Street, Te Aro, Wellington
The Parade, Island Bay, Wellington
Tinakori Road, Thorndon, Wellington
Tory Street, Te Aro, Wellington
Victoria Street, Te Aro, Wellington
Vivian Street, Te Aro, Wellington
Wakefield Street, Wellington Central, Wellington
Willis Street, Wellington Central, Wellington
Woodward Street, Wellington Central, Wellington