QEII Park and Recreation Centre to be demolished

Most of the QEII Park Recreation and Sport Centre is to be demolished because the earthquake-damaged complex is considered to be dangerous.

Christchurch City Council has received a Notice of Demolition under Section 38(4) of the CER Act from the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA). The Council has agreed to the proposed demolition. However, the timeline for the demolition is yet to be confirmed.

CERA has issued the notice for the main stadium building, the covered stand and the north and south open stands because it considers them to be dangerous buildings. The CERA notice does not include the 50-metre pool which is in a separate building on the same site. However, as engineering reports released by the Council last month indicate, it is also significantly damaged.

Council General Manager Community Services Michael Aitken says the Council was aware from engineering reports that the complex was severely earthquake-damaged. “We already knew that engineers believe that the facility cannot be repaired to the same level as a new facility and these were details we shared with the public when we released the QEII engineering reports last month. We are aware that there is high community interest in the complex and we are keen to ensure that there is some certainty for our residents around its future.”

The Council is currently considering the future of QEII as part of its draft Annual Plan. The Council’s preferred option for QEII and the Centennial Recreation and Sport Centre is to develop the first stage of a multi-sport hub in the Central City and to build a community leisure facility and athletic track on the QEII site or another site in the east. The public will have the opportunity to provide feedback about this preferred option as part of the Annual Plan consultation process, which begins on 20 April.