“For properties in the flat land residential red zone areas, being zoned red means that the land has been so badly damaged by the earthquakes it is unlikely that it can be rebuilt on for a prolonged period.”
Red Zone information | Cera [production]
https://cera.govt.nz/land-information/red-zone
Got that guys? Here’s more from the Cera (Canterbury earthquake recovery authority) site:
“Key points to note for the flat land residential red zone areas:
It is not feasible to rebuild on this land at the present time
Wide scale land remediation would take a considerable period of time, the social dislocation of such massive works would see homeowners out of their homes for at least three years, and in some cases more than five years
In some areas remediation would require up to three metres of compacted fill to bring the land up to compliant height, along with many kilometres of perimeter treatment
In addition, a complete replacement of essential infrastructure like sewer, water, electricity and roading would be required
Full land repair in these areas may mean that every house would need to be removed, regardless of its degree of present building damage
Even if full land repair was viable, the resulting ongoing social dislocation would have major impacts on schooling, transport and employment for whole communities. “
For those who don’t know, I live right on the edge of the Christchurch post-quake “Red Zone”, which has mostly reverted to the swamp that existed there before humans built homes on it. After the earthquake of 2011 the home owners in the Red Zone were offered money in exchange for their land, (the speed with which the offer was presented fuels speculation about foreknowledge of the impending quake) and we all were told that this land (now “Crown Owned”) was unsuitable for residential building and would be used for parks, recreation and reservation, in accordance with consultation of the people of Christchurch.
Now, it seems that our government is eyeing up this boggy swampland for housing, in spite of previous claims to the contrary.
All I can say is; Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. We had a powerful earthquake in 2010 and were assured it was a “once in 16,000 year event”: Everyone breathed a sigh of relief that no one got hurt and carried on with life. A few months later we had another big quake, followed by many thousands of large aftershocks. This time there were hundreds of casualties and injuries.
And the government wants to build more houses on this quake-ravaged land?
A case of greed over common sense?
Martin
Concerns raised over Chch red zone plans
Proposals to build new homes in an area of Christchurch’s quake-hit red zone isn’t fair to its old occupants, a former resident says.
On Friday the Crown-led agency, Regenerate Christchurch, released ten options for the Avon-Otakaro red zone]. The 602 hectare red zone used to house 9000 people before the Christchurch earthquakes in 2010 and 2011.
Almost every house is now gone.
The 10 options on the table for the area include scenarios such as establishing a lake, a golf course, and cycle trails.
Half of the options include building houses.
David Miller’s family used to live in the red zone, and he said putting in new homes in the area was unfair to its former residents.
“You can hardly take people off the land and then later on, when you have gotten rid off those people, you can hardly go back on what you’ve proposed to do … it doesn’t make sense,” he said.
“It just doesn’t seem fair.”
The 10 options have come out of about 5000 ideas Regenerate Christchurch got from the community.
Ernest Tsao is still living in the red zone, as the government’s offer to buy his property was not enough to cover buying a house elsewhere.
Mr Tsao said he was not against new developments, but he was worried about how he and others may be affected.
“My interests are to preserve my home and my house,” he said.
“It doesn’t matter what [Regenerate Christchurch] decide to in the future, as long as they respect the private property rights and the dignity of those who still live here, we have no problem with what they decide to do.”
The Avon-Otakaro Network is a local group lobbying for more green areas.
Spokesperson Evan Smith said he understood the opposition to rebuilding in the red zone but argued it gave the city an opportunity to test new ways of building houses.
“There’s not a need for housing in Christchurch per se, there is now enough land to meet demand, and probably future demand as well. But there is a need for affordable housing and housing that tests methodology to make them resilient,” he said.
https://www.msn.com/en-nz/news/national/concerns-raised-over-chch-red-zone-plans/ar-AAt7IiT?li=AA59FU&ocid=spartanntp
And now comes the scaremongering agenda to further the housebuilding option:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/business/the-rebuild/98187225/canterbury-university-researchers-red-zone-potentially-dangerous-for-food-production
And one wonders if there’s a supermarket paying for the study. No residential fruit and veg growing? No self sustainability?