Fears of red-zone waste lands

People look at a home in the red zone, in Avonside. Photo by NZPA.
People look at a home in the red zone, in Avonside. Photo by NZPA.
The worst-affected spots in Christchurch could be uninhabitable for seven years, leaving residents concerned they will turn into wastelands.

The Government yesterday confirmed 5100 Christchurch homes, mostly in the eastern suburbs, could not be salvaged because of severe liquefaction and sunken or lifted earth.

During the series of quakes since September, parts of Burwood had sunk 1.5m, and Bexley had fallen 1m.

Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee said these areas could not be redeemed quickly.

"You'd need to clear everything off the land, the land would need to be raised; you wouldn't recognise the suburb."

He estimated that process would take seven years "at the shortest".

Residents living on the edge of the red zones said they expected the abandoned streets to become ghost towns. They were concerned not only about the long, noisy periods of demolition but also the potential influence on the values of their properties.

Mr Brownlee dampened fears the red zones would become neglected wastelands.

"Christchurch is not the sort of place that will tolerate that. I think there will be an orderly exit from those suburbs and, as people go, the houses will be demolished and roads will be taken out.

And there will be a range of remediation options that are put forward."

Abandoned areas would slowly return to their natural state, such as grassland.

"There's no intention to let it become a problem as it settles over the next few years. It will take quite some time to settle to a point where you could make a decision about how you remediate it back to a residential standard.

"Along the way, grass will grow. There are many parts of Christchurch now where there was liquefaction on February 22 that's got grass growing through the top of it."

 

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