For more information about some of the city's well known Council-owned heritage assets, many of which are also included in the Facilities Rebuild Plan, click here.
Facilities Rebuild Forums – update as at Monday 18 June.
The Mainland Communities paper – Western News delivered on a Monday – ran an incorrect story about the Facilities Rebuild Forums on page 6.
The article stated that residents in the West could attend a forum this Wednesday 19 June at St Marks Church auditorium on Withells Road.
This is incorrect.
The first forum is this week Wednesday 19 June but it is for residents in the EAST at Woolston Club 43 Hargood Street.
The forum for the WEST at St Marks is next week Wednesday 26 June.
The forums are:
1. East: Wed 19 June, 6–7.30pm, Woolston Club, 43 Hargood St.
2. West: Wed 26 June, 6–7.30pm, St Marks Church Auditorium, 150 Withells Rd, Avonhead.
3. South: Thu 27 June, 6–7.30pm, Cashmere Club, 50 Colombo St, Somerfield.
4. North: Wed 3 July, 6–7.30pm, Parklands Baptist Church, 180 Queenspark Drive.
5. Banks Peninsula, Lyttelton: Wed 10 July, 6–7.15pm, Lyttelton Club, 23 Dublin St.
6. Banks Peninsula, Akaroa: Thu 11 July, 4pm–5.30pm, Akaroa Sports Complex, Rue Jolie.
For full information about the community forums, please visit our earlier posting.
Toilet Upgrade Harvard Community Lounge - Monday 17 June 2013
Improvements are starting on the Harvard Community Lounge, Corsair Drive today Monday 17 June 2013.
The community centre will remain open in a limited capacity during the upgrade. The upgrade is to the toilet facilities and is part of business as usual maintenance not earthquake repairs. The improvements involve treating for mould, repainting and installing ventilation. This facility is being used by more people since the earthquakes as other facilities are out of action. The toilet upgrades are necessary to ensure the facility can meet the increased demand and to a reasonable standard.
During the improvements, envisaged to take one week, a portable toilet will be on site.
Regular users of the facility are being contacted about the upgrade and will still be able to use the facility although no new casual bookings will be accepted for that week.
Facilities Rebuild Community Forums
Christchurch City Council is holding a series of community forums during June and July to help inform residents about progress with the repair and rebuild of Council facilities across the city and Banks Peninsula.
Residents are invited to find out the latest about the facilities in their community at the forums, which are being held as part of the Council’s Facilities Rebuild Plan programme.
The forums will include a 15–20 minute presentation, followed by a 60-minute open question and answer session.
As well as being an opportunity to inform residents about the Council’s Facilities Rebuild Plan Programme, the forums will also help the Council to identify the best ways of keeping residents up-to-date with developments in the programme.
The Christchurch forums will be held in venues across all four parts of the city and there will be two forums held in Banks Peninsula.
The dates and venues for the forums are:
Wed 19 June 6–7.30pm Woolston Club, 43 Hargood St East
Wed 26 June 6–7.30pm: St Marks Church Auditorium, 150 Withells Rd, Avonhead West
Thu 27 June 6–7.30pm Cashmere Club, 50 Colombo St, Somerfield South
Wed 3 July 6–7.30pm Parklands Baptist Church, 180 Queenspark Drive North
Wed 10 July 6–7.15pm Lyttelton Club, 23 Dublin St Lyttelton Basin
Thu 11 July 4pm–5.30pm Akaroa Sports Complex, Rue Jolie.
Please note: The date and time of the forum in Akaroa has changed from the original schedule. Please note the new date.
Riccarton Community Centre partially re-opens - Tuesday 11 June
Riccarton residents and community groups are now able to access the foyer and front board room within the Riccarton Community Centre.
In April the Community Recreation and Culture Committee heard a delegation from the Central Riccarton Residents' Association Inc. asking that the community centre be partially opened as the foyer and board room in the front portion of the building that was developed in 1968 was still suitable for use even if other parts of the building were not.
So work began to make this happen: this involved blocking off parts of the building that are below 34 per cent of New Building Standards (NBS), rectifying a number of fire egress issues, obtaining a Building Warrant of Fitness, completing a Health and Safety Risk Management Assessment and upgrading signage.
Investigations will continue into the remaining portion of the building that is at two per cent NBS and the future of the building as a whole will be made by elected members as part of the Facilities Rebuild Plan project.
Historic Grubb Cottage soon to re-open - Monday 10 June
Lyttelton's Grubb Cottage, one of the oldest buildings in Canterbury, is soon to be re-opened.
The building was closed after the earthquakes following a Level Two rapid assessment but has now been re-opened on the basis of a Detailed Engineering Evaluation (DEE) that places the building at 86 per cent of the New Building Code. One room remains locked (the brickwork on the internal fireplace has minor damage) and repair works will be scheduled to the building in due course. However, the majority of the building is now deemed suitable to occupy and this is largely due to previous strengthening and conservation work done on Grubb Cottage prior to the earthquakes.
The land where Grubb Cottage stands is the first piece of land to be sold in New Zealand by the Canterbury Association which had not been pre-purchased in England. The historic cottage represents a snapshot of early settler life as it was in Canterbury in 1851.
Grubb Cottage is listed as a protected building under the Banks Peninsula District Plan and registered as a Category II Historic Place under the Historic Places Act.
Grubb Cottage Heritage Trust was incorporated in 2007 and lease this historic building.
Opawa Children's Voluntary Library - under repair - early June 2013
Repairs on the Opawa Children’s Voluntary Library building at Ford Road have begun.
The Opawa Children’s Voluntary Library is in the top 30 priority buildings for repair and/or rebuild. While the building is currently open, cosmetic repairs (painting) are required to make sure the building is weather proof and to maintain the life of the building.
There will be no more earthquake repairs on this building. A Detailed Engineering Evaluation (DEE) for the Opawa Children’s Voluntary Library has placed its ability to withstand future events at 34 per cent and therefore under Council policy is suitable to remain open. Buildings with a capacity between 34 per cent and 66 per cent can be occupied where engineering advice confirms that there is a moderate to low risk and there are no health and safety issues associated with the building being open.
Any further strengthening required to meet Council requirements will be added to the ongoing maintenance plan for the building.
Work progresses on new South Brighton Community Centre - Wednesday 23 May 2013
Foundations for the new transitional South Brighton Community Centre are being laid – with the facility expected to open by early September. Excavations finished on the site of the demolished South Brighton Community Centre in Beatty Street in mid-May. The piling work currently underway is expected to take up to a month to complete.
The former QEII Preschool building, which is being transformed into the transitional community centre, was moved to the site in March, courtesy of the International Association of the Lions Clubs which paid for the re-location. It is currently sitting on blocks while the foundations for the facility are built.
Once the foundations are completed, the facility will be lifted on to them by crane. Repair and refurbishment work will then be carried out before the community centre opens. This includes re-wiring and repainting the facility and installing new toilets and a new kitchen.
Implement shed being demolished - Tuesday 21 May 2013
An implement shed used by Botanic gardens staff in South Hagley Park is being demolished because an engineering report showed its seismic capacity to withstand future events was 14 per cent of the New Building Standard (NBS) and it is uneconomical to repair. The Council agreed to the demolition after receiving a report from the Community and Culture Committee on 24 April 2013. The demolition will begin this week and signage will go up on the site.
Hei Hei Community Centre prioritised - Tuesday 7 May 2013
The Committee responded to a deputation last month to the Council regarding a request for Hei Hei Community Centre be included in the top 30 Council-owned community facilities prioritised for funding, further investigation and, where possible, repairs. It recommended it be placed in the priority 30 projects.
Jellie Park Progress - Thursday 16 May 2013
The Council approved strengthening work to the earthquake-prone, two-storey plant room at Jellie Park, which is currently operating under a temporary access plan and can only be accessed for short periods. The $260,000 required for the work will be taken from the Council’s Buildings and Infrastructure Improvement Allowance.
Templeton Community Centre repaired - Monday 6 May 2013
Repairs have finished and the building re-opened after two week closure while repairs were carried out on the Templeton Communtiy Centre. The community centre was closed from Monday 22 April to Saturday 4 May while cosmetic repairs including raking, plastering and painting of cracks, securing of panels, lighting repairs and painting were completed.
Edmonds Clock Tower back on top - Update 23 April 2013
The Edmonds Clock Tower, cnr of Madras St and Oxford Tce, was lifted back onto it base today at 8am. The stone structure was damaged in the earthquakes and removed for safety reasons after the June event but repair work started in January 2013.
The Clock Tower was a gift to the city from Mr Thomas Edmonds and caries an Historic Places Trust category 2 listing and is also a structure of historic significance in the Chch City Plan.
Further repair work will happen now that the structure is back together. The Clock Tower is likely to be completed mid 2013. For pictures of the lifting and resettlement visit Facebook.
Lyttelton Visitor and Information Centre re-opens - 2 April 2013
On Tuesday 2 April 2013 the Oxford Street building in Lyttelton tenanted by Lyttelton Visitor Information Centre re-opened. The toilet adjacent to the Centre is also now open.
The re-opened building also houses the community’s Timebank initiative and is used for art exhibitions and community meetings.
A temporary information centre had been running out of a portable building on London Street since the Oxford Street building was closed after the February 2011 earthquake.
Demolition of Scarborough paddling pool - 28 March 2013
At its meeting on Thursday 28 March, the Council agreed the Scarborough Paddling Pool should be demolished and the area returned to grassed lawn while its long term future is considered.
The paddling pool, which is on the Scarborough foreshore and is damaged beyond repair, will be demolished while investigations continue into long term solutions for the site under the Council’s Facilities Rebuild Plan programme.
Relocating the former QEII Park Preschool building - 28 March 2013
In the early hours of Thursday morning (28 March), Christchurch City Council moved the former QEII Park Preschool building to the site of the demolished South Brighton Community Centre in Beatty Street where it is expected to re-open as a transitional community facility in June. It took almost three hours for the building to get to its new site after leaving the QEII site at 3am.
The International Association of the Lions Clubs, which assisted the Council to set up the transitional St Albans Community Centre last year, is funding the relocation of the preschool building to the community centre site.
The building will remain on blocks on the site while foundations are built before being lifted on to them by crane at the end of April. The building will then be repaired and refurbished.
Click on images for larger view
Edmonds Clock Tower repairs start - 23 January 2013
On 23 January 2013 repair and strengthening work began on the historic Council-owned Edmonds Clock Tower, corner of Madras Street and Oxford Terrace. The repair work is expected to take about 15 weeks to complete and, once completed, the clock will tell the time on the banks of the Avon River once more.
The clock tower, which was damaged in the February and June 2011 earthquakes, will be strengthened to 67 per cent of the New Building Standard with an internal reinforced concrete skin wall. Significant stabilisation work has already been undertaken while the clock tower has been awaiting repairs.
The top half of the tower was successfully lifted onto a bed of sand and the bottom half has also been protected from the weather with tarpaulins.
The repairs will also include straightening the central section of the tower and re-mortaring it into its correct position and lifting the top section back into its original position. Images of the repair works below (click on image for larger view).
2012 Updates on Facilities Rebuild
Click here to access all 2012 updates on Facilities Rebuild.
2012 Updates include:
South Library and Beckenham Service Centre re-opens - 19 December 2012
Work Continues on the priority 30 projects - 7 December 2012 update
Temporary repair and strengthening work at South Library and Beckenham Service Centre - 13 November 2012 update
Curator's House re-opens - 19 October 2012 update
Cowles Stadium re-opens - 12 October 2012 - update
South Library and Beckenham Service Centre - 13 September 2012 update
Rolleston House Youth Hostel - 13 September 2012
Akaroa's Gaiety Hall - 27 August 2012 update
Bishopdale Community Centre and Library - 24 August 2012 update
QEII - 23 August 2012 update
The Council in 2012 approved repairs to a number of buildings. For more information on the status of these buildings click here.
