Most Environment Canterbury staff working from Lincoln base for next 12 months

Environment Canterbury has rented office accommodation in the Lincoln area and most of its 390 Christchurch-based staff will be based there for the next 12 months.

Two of its buildings in Kilmore St are next to the damaged Copthorne Durham hotel and so are currently inaccessible, and staff have had limited access to the third building to remove essential equipment and files.

Chair of Commissioners Dame Margaret Bazley said as of last Friday 94% of staff were now working from alternative locations, including from home.

She said Environment Canterbury was very appreciative of the accommodation offered by the Selwyn District Council and Hurunui District Council directly after the 22 February earthquake. This had enabled senior staff to have a base from which to source alternative accommodation.

The organisation had already found that a move to the city’s outskirts has many benefits. “We have already found that being located outside the central city benefits our relationships with the district councils, the farming community and our research partners the crown research institutes.”

Some 65 staff, including the resource consents processing team, are already operating from an building owned by AgResearch at Lincoln. The team was back up to capacity and as at 1 April was once again meeting statutory processing timeframes.

Before Easter another 90 staff will be working from a property owned by Lincoln University (Gillespie Hall), and after Easter a further 84 staff will be working from a refitted Ellesmere Country Club owned by the Selwyn District Council.

Staff were also working out of a number of other locations including its Amberley and Kaianga offices, NIWA’s offices, and 31 Passenger Services staff were working from new Papanui premises. A further 98 staff are working from a building in Middleton, Christchurch.

In the weeks following the earthquake up to a quarter of Environment Canterbury’s Christchurch-based staff had been involved in the Civil Defence effort with the Christchurch City Council. Others had proved flexible, working from home, other Environment Canterbury offices, or other temporary premises. Staff based outside Christchurch have provided uninterrupted services and have provided support and accommodation for displaced Christchurch staff.

“While it is not quite business as usual yet, the council is working effectively across a wide spectrum of its activities.

“It is important that we keep up the momentum on initiatives such as the Canterbury Water Management Strategy and we have managed to achieve that.

“Like many Christchurch people, our staff have had some challenging personal circumstances to work through, but they have been committed and resourceful in getting back to work.”