12 Apr 2014

Quake building bill seen as limited

12:32 pm on 12 April 2014

Christchurch City Council says Government plans to change the laws around quake-prone buildings don't go far enough.

The council is preparing a submission on the Building Amendment Bill that was introduced to Parliament in December last year.

Despite recommendations from the Canterbury Earthquakes Royal Commission of Inquiry that earthquake-prone buildings must be strengthened or demolished within 15 years, the bill pushes that out to 20 years.

Mayor Lianne Dalziel says the bill is a ''one size fits all'' and does not focus on the areas are most quake-prone or the buildings most likely to collapse.

She says the council has a draft submission which calls for shorter timeframes to strengthen unreinforced masonry buildings.

She says the city owes that to the 185 people who died in the February 2011 earthquake and wants the select committee to be held in the city.

The bill passed its first reading with only the Greens voting against it and has been referred to the Local Government and Environment Select Committee.

Submissions to the select committee close on 17 April.