Six Wellington City Council housing complexes declared quake-prone

Monday, 17 February 2025

The Pukehīnau flats are one of the six affected.

Six Wellington City Council housing complexes, including one that already underwent a $28.4m strengthening and refurbishment project, have been declared quake-prone with more than 300 homes affected.

The council on Monday said the Berkeley Dallard apartments on Nairn St, three properties on Daniell St, Newtown; Hanson Court on Hanson St, four blocks at Kōtuku in Kilbirnie, the link bridge at the Pukehīnau flats in Mount Cook, and Whare Ahuru Flats in Thorndon would have quake prone notices stuck up.

Pukehīnau/Lambton ward councillor Iona Pannett said it was incredibly frustrating that one building was recently strengthened and now had to be done again.

The quake-prone status means notices will be displayed at their entrances and quake-strengthening will be carried out. Each falls below 34% of the standard expected of a new building, but under legislation, a building is only as strong as its weakest part.

“While there is nothing within the assessments that indicates the buildings cannot continue to be lived in, the council appreciates the uncertainty it can cause and is committed to completing the work with minimal disruption to tenants and in a timely manner,” council chief infrastructure officer Jenny Chetwynd said.

Wellington Central MP Tamatha Paul said the government housing shortages made the problem worse.

Berkeley Dallard, an 11 storey apartment building off Nairn St in Mount Cook, reopened in 2014 after a $28.4m makeover and quake-strengthening project.

Lambton/Pukehīnau ward councillor Iona Pannett said it was “incredibly frustrating” that the council was now having to do the work again and it was untenable to restrengthen a building every decade as standards changed.

It was not clear how much work was needed at each site and it was less of an issue if it was only minor work, she said.

“The safety of our tenants is our number one priority,” she said.

Wellington Central MP Tamatha Paul said the council flat issues wouldn’t be such a big problem if the government state housing organisation Kāinga Ora had good Wellington supply.

A nearby Kāinga Ora development in Mount Cook was recently delayed indefinitely while another in Newtown was delayed.

Councillor Diane Calvert said council staff “absolutely” know about the lowered ratings during last week’s meeting about amending the council’s long-term plan, which outlined the draft budget for the coming nine years, and a recent audit and risk committee meeting.

While the information was pertinent to both, especially the long-term budget setting, it was not passed on to councillors until after the long-term plan had been signed off for consultation. Council staff could not give a predicted cost of the works, she said.

She understood Berkeley Dallard was brought above the then-building standard in 2014 but new standards meant it dropped below again.