421 Port Hills properties zoned green

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee has today announced the green zoning of 421 residential properties in the Port Hills, leaving 1679 houses still under review.

“This announcement is part of an ongoing programme of technical modelling and mapping work to determine risks from rockfall and cliff collapse, and the feasibility of addressing those hazards,” Mr Brownlee said.

Parallel work streams by the Christchurch City Council (CCC) and the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA) are progressively creating a clear picture of where the greatest risks to habitation in the event of major earthquakes exist, and how those risks might be mitigated.

CCC-commissioned work by the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences (GNS) and the Port Hills Geotechnical Group of engineers is complementing a CERA-commissioned three-dimensional rockfall study by Christchurch company Geovert, with support from Austrian rockfall specialists, and advice from experts at Italy’s University of Milan.

“As more information becomes available we’ll be able to announce decisions for the remaining properties in the white zone,” Mr Brownlee said.