- Invercargill City Council reduced its list of dangerous buildings to just three.
- Council report shows 70 complaints about unsafe buildings from 2019 to 2023.
- Government proposes bill to extend remediation deadlines for earthquake-prone buildings.
Invercargill City Council’s list of dangerous or unsanitary buildings has been reduced to just three, despite dozens of alerts lodged in recent years. A June report revealed 70 reports or complaints about potentially unsafe residential and commercial buildings between 2019 and 2023. However, only 14 met the criteria for being classified as dangerous or unsanitary, and now just three buildings remain on the list.
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The remaining buildings are all located on Dee Street in Invercargill: an empty building at number 155, Coco Bella, and the old Briscoes building, which was fire-damaged in 2023. Coco Bella has received an insanitary notice but continues to operate as the engineer’s report restricts access only to the first floor.
Anne Duncan, council manager for planning and building services, stated that the council is working with property owners to address these issues. This involves regular engineering inspections, particularly at the Briscoes building, and determining partial occupancy on a case-by-case risk assessment basis.
Other previously listed buildings have been resolved through various measures, including sewer repairs, cladding repairs, and demolitions. Duncan also confirmed that none of these buildings are council-owned and that there has been no increase in the number of buildings identified as dangerous or unsanitary.
In June, the council adopted a draft Dangerous, Affected, and Insanitary Buildings Policy for public consultation. This new policy aims to replace the existing Dangerous Buildings Policy 2018 and Insanitary Buildings Policy 2018. A panel made up of councillors Darren Ludlow, Ria Bond, Lesley Soper, and mana whenua representative Pania Coote has been established for hearings and deliberations on August 13.
Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk announced that the Government is progressing a bill to extend the remediation deadline for earthquake-prone buildings. The current system is considered complex and costly, with over five thousand such buildings across the country. A review aims to simplify and clarify the system, offering building owners more certainty and better incentives for remediation or demolition.
The Building (Earthquake-prone Building Deadlines and Other Matters) Amendment Bill, which passed its first reading, extends the remediation deadline for non-lapsed earthquake-prone buildings by four years, effective from April 2024. There will also be an option to extend deadlines by an additional two years if necessary. This measure provides temporary relief for nearly 500 buildings with upcoming remediation deadlines, while encouraging owners to proceed with remediation work where possible.
The ultimate goal of the review is to balance seismic risk management with practical cost considerations to ensure the safety of New Zealanders.