Port Hills risk notices replaced

Christchurch City Council staff and contractors will be working in the Port Hills next week to review the status of notices due to expire that prohibit entry to homes.

Around 500 Civil Defence red placards were issued on the Port Hills as a result of geotechnical work after 22 February. These expired on 12 July and the majority were replaced with notices prohibiting entry to homes under section 124 of the Building Act because of rockfall or other geotechnical hazards.

Council General Manager Regulation and Democracy Peter Mitchell says it is likely that the majority of these will once again be replaced when they expire next week because of the extreme risk involved.

“The replacement process will be carried out over several days next week. It is important that residents adhere to these notices for their own safety; the notices will be enforced,” Mr Mitchell says.

If new risks are identified to any further homes by geotechnical engineers while this replacement process is underway, it is possible that new notices will be issued. If this is necessary, residents will first be contacted by Council staff and geotechnical engineers who will explain the situation and potential danger.

“The Council is awaiting the result of geotechnical reports before decisions are made regarding the reoccupation of houses. Decisions will be made with input from a number of organisations through a robust process that has the safety of people and their homes as its main aim,” Mr Mitchell says.

The process underway right now is as follows: there are three different reports being prepared by the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences (GNS). These reports cover:

• the extent of the land issues;
• the probability of future events;
• exposure to risk for people living in and passing through rock and cliff collapse hazard areas including recommendations on the reoccupation of houses that have received notices prohibiting entry under section 124 of the Building Act.

These reports consider the wider issues affecting large areas of the hills and are not designed to assess individual properties. Once completed, they will be reviewed by the Port Hills Geotechnical Group – a group of engineers contracted to the Council to assess geotechnical damage in the hills and coordinate remediation work – then peer reviewed by an international expert.

Recommendations will then be presented to the Council and the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority for a decision to be made on the reoccupation of homes. This decision is expected to be some months away.

Residents of the Port Hills can sign up for regular email updates by sending their details to porthillsgeotech@ccc.govt.nz or visit www.ccc.govt.nz/PortHillsGeotech for more information.