Questions raised over safety of new recreation area at Redcliffs Park

The safety of a $1.19 million park to be developed on the old Redcliffs School site has been questioned.

The construction of the recreation reserve, Te Papa Kura Redcliffs Park on Main Rd, Redcliffs, will begin this month and is set to be completed late this year or early next year.

It will include two junior sports fields, the existing playground facilities, paths, and space for future public gatherings.

Redcliffs School moved to a new campus on Beachville Rd, Redcliffs, in June.

Linwood-Central-Heathcote Community Board member Darrell Latham questioned the site's safety.

"I’m very happy that Redcliffs School is on its new site and absolutely 100 per cent celebrate the school being back in the community.

"However, I find it somewhat ironic that it was never considered safe for a school to be (at Redcliffs Park), but it’s going to be considered safe for the site to be used for sports activities for children and for the community,” said Latham.

Redcliffs School principal Rose McInerney said the decision for the school not to return to the site was not made because it was ruled unsafe.

She said it was actually because of the disruption another earthquake could cause to pupils education if the cliffs behind it had to be assessed again.

"The geotechnical engineering from that site actually came back that there was a one-in-a-million life risk.

"We believe that site was absolutely safe to return to, and so I think for those reasons it would be absolutely perfect to be a park as well,” she said.

Latham: “As long as the correct mitigation measures are implemented to ensure the safety of the public and children that use the park, then that’s fine from my perspective, and my understanding is that they’re going to put in the required fencing to ensure that that becomes a reality.”

Christchurch City Council head of parks Andrew Rutledge said the reason why the site is considered safe for a park is that “the psychosocial implications of children attending a school at the site do not apply to park use, due to the lower risk profile for park use activity".

"The hazardous area below the cliff is fenced off," he said. 

"Areas where people are likely to gather and linger are planned away from the hazardous area.

"Various assessments were undertaken at the time of the land swap and the site was considered safe for park use,” Rutledge said.