Fall should ring alarm bells for Wellington
seven years ago, an earthquake centred 153 kilometres away changed Wellington’s landscape forever. A CBD once bustling with office blocks, social housing, a library and a Town Hall became a city pockmarked with abandoned buildings, scaffolding, burst water pipes and graffiti.
The 2016 Kaikō ura earthquake badly damaged Wellington’s infrastructure and buildings and revealed major structural concerns in the event of another big quake.
The result has been hundreds of buildings abandoned or facing an uncertain future. Those evacuated and boarded up have unsurprisingly attracted squatters and antisocial behaviour.
The serious risk of leaving buildings vacant was made clear when a man, believed to be homeless, fell three floors down a damaged stairwell in Pringle House. He spent the night critically injured inside the abandoned office block before being discovered on Tuesday.
The owner was quick to point out the struggles they’ve had keeping trespassers out. Prime Property’s Jason Dunn said all measures had been taken to prevent illegal entry.
It’s not the first time an abandoned building has become a serious safety risk in central Wellington. Last October, four teenagers were referred to youth services after burning down a derelict building on Ghuznee St. The heritagelisted Toomath’s Building has been cordoned off as an earthquake risk since 2019.
The boarded-up Reading Cinema complex on Courtenay Place has been described as a “great big . . . black hole”, contributing to an escalation in antisocial behaviour in the city’s party strip at night. The controversial — and failed — council attempt to get that building fixed up illustrates just how complicated the issue is to resolve.
It’s something the Government is aware of, with Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk calling the current situation “untenable”.
He’s previously pointed out the myriad complexities in getting buildings fixed or demolished, including their heritage status, reaching universal agreements within body corporates, insurance battles and the cost.
It’s the reason the Government has brought forward a review of rules for earthquake-prone buildings, including a four-year extension for remediation deadlines.
Penk has said “without change, a significant number of buildings could sit empty, which would have a devastating impact on the economy in cities such as Wellington and provincial towns across New Zealand”.
Empty buildings are already having a devastating impact on Wellington. Not just economically, but on the health and safety of residents.
Monday’s fall paints an alarming future for the capital if changes to earthquake legislation don’t result in action.