Westland District Council is welcoming the Government’s new "risk-based" approach to earthquake strengthening, which is expected to provide significant relief to building owners and councils in regional areas like ours while keeping communities safe.
Currently, there are 48 earthquake-prone buildings in the Westland District, including 7 Council-owned properties. These include community facilities and administrative buildings, meaning the changes have direct implications for Council and ratepayers.
The new Earthquake-Prone Building system, announced by Government this week, means only the highest-risk buildings will remain subject to mandatory strengthening. Specifically, in high seismic areas like Westland, a building will only be considered earthquake-prone if it is a three-storey or taller heavy concrete building or an unreinforced masonry structure.
This means some smaller or lower-risk buildings in Westland may no longer require remediation or warning notices. In some cases, façades will still need to be secured before removal from the earthquake-prone register, potentially reducing costs for building owners and Council.
Council is considering the implications of this for community halls and other council-owned facilities, as well as its own headquarters building, which is a three-storey masonry structure and therefore likely to remain within the regime.
Mayor Helen Lash cautiously welcomed the announcement, while stressing that community safety remains paramount.
“Any change that helps reduce costs for our community while still ensuring people are safe is a positive step. We want to make sure Westland’s buildings are safe and affordable to maintain, but we need to work through the detail of these changes,” Mayor Lash said.
Council Chief Executive Barbara Phillips noted that while the headline changes are encouraging, the detail will matter.
“The legislation still needs to pass through Parliament, and until the finer points are clear, we won’t know exactly how many of Westland’s 48 earthquake-prone buildings will be affected. Our focus will be on ensuring the new rules are applied consistently and that our ratepayers and building owners are supported through the transition.”
The Government has also confirmed that:
Owners will no longer be required to upgrade fire safety and disability access at the same time as earthquake strengthening.
Councils will have the authority to extend remediation deadlines by up to 15 years, giving building owners more time to plan and fund required work.
These changes are expected to reduce compliance costs significantly and improve the feasibility of managing seismic risk across the district.
The benchmark for low-exposure buildings is yet to be determined but is likely to factor in population density and foot traffic. Small regional centres could be deemed low exposure without the need for further assessment.
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For further information please contact:
Westland District Council:
Communications@westlanddc.govt.nz