A Christchurch building housing five businesses will be
cordoned off this afternoon after concerns were raised about
its structural integrity.
The building at 111 Riccarton Road was brought to the
Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority's attention by an
engineer working on behalf of a building owner's loss
adjustor.
His concerns about the building led to Cera engineers
checking it yesterday and they advised Warwick Isaacs, Cera
general manager Operations, that the building needed to be
closed.
"At the very least there is more work that needs to be done
to confirm the state of the building and in turn make the
appropriate decision on the future of the building.
Further work is required before a final decision is made and
this will be done as soon as possible,'' Mr Isaacs said in a
statement.
The building would be closed under Section 45 of the CER Act,
which restricts access to the building. This would affect
five businesses and numerous staff, which Mr Isaacs said was
frustrating and upsetting for those people.
"My main concern is keeping the public safe from potential or
ongoing seismic activity. Leaving safety to chance is just
not worth the risk.''
The closure would also affect parking and traffic flow on
Riccarton Road and Rotheram Street.
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