By Liz Puranam
Comments from Earthquake Minister Gerry Brownlee that Christchurch's badly-damaged heritage buildings have no future have infuriated building owners, and forced Civil Defence and the Mayor Bob Parker into damage control today.
It's hard to imagine Christchurch without its heritage buildings, but more than 1000 are damaged, and safety is the overriding concern for Civil Defence head John Hamilton.
"I'm … acutely aware of the historical importance of many aspects of the buildings and their contents, and we will try and accommodate those factors whenever we possibly can," says Mr Hamilton.
But if Mr Brownlee has his way, almost all the damaged heritage buildings will come down as soon as possible.
He outraged many with that call and was lying low today, leaving Prime Minister John Key to speak on his behalf.
"I do think we need to brace ourselves that a great deal of buildings will be knocked down as a result of the quake," says Mr Key.
On Sydenham's main street weeks after September's earthquake, buildings were cordoned off while their owners fought to have them demolished.
They're still trying. Mr Brownlee wants to cut through the lengthy and often costly consent process that's held them up.
"Heritage's biggest enemy is panic and haste, especially where it's a situation where a building, is it safe or is it unsafe?" says Anna Crighton of the Earthquake Heritage Trust.
The concern is that, given the chance, some owners will choose demolition because it's cheaper than restoration.
Demolition crews are already busy at work in the CBD.
The Portobello Antiques Building is expected to come down. It's inside the worst hit red zone.
Its owner Deric Blackler says he's unsure whether he'll be able to salvage the priceless artefacts inside
"It's like brain washing . You are told one thing and then it changes 10 minutes later. There's no certainty of the future."
Today Civil Defence officials gave a little more certainty about the future for business owners by dividing buildings into four categories -
- Buildings that are unsafe even for searchers and will be "deconstructed in a heartbeat";
- Buildings which searchers only can access to recover items from it;
- A category labelled "bad", where owners can go back but only with searchers and for a limited time;
- And moderately-damaged buildings where owners are allowed access for a longer period escorted by a search team.
Civil Defence officials also plan to open up zones three and four of the CBD by Thursday this week.
3 News