02.03.13. Flowery portaloo, Ellerslie Flower Show, Christchurch Botanic Gdns
After quake trashing, Brownlee's CERA destroyed large chunks of Christchurch by red zonings, demolitions & shoddy coordination of repairs & rebuilds. For years, CERA would condone EQC's & Fletcher's shoddy repairs to quake damaged housing.
06.03.13. Latimer Sq / Gloucester St view, demolition sites to the CBD red zone
Sceptical of Brownlee's prattling about Christchurch CBD transformed from a red zone to a rebuild zone, I trekked a circuit of the CBD red zone. Trekking before midday should've shown hordes of Hi-Vis vested workmen "rebuilding" the red zone CBD. CERA's occupying Christchurch CBD turned it into a Zombie CBD:
06.03.13. Fading USAR / TF graffiti on multi-storey, carpark wall, Gloucester St, N red zone. The carpark would be demolished for CERA's Blueprint E Frame / Rauora Park
Gloucester St / Manchester St: No change in red zone demolition sites since I'd last passed that way. No rebuild going on.
06.03.13. Gloucester St / Manchester St view, N red zone. Red YH bldg right would survive the quakes
06.03.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Gloucester St, W view, New Regent St restoration, Isaac Theatre Royal restoration in N red zone right. The Press & ghost Camelot Hotel left. Camelot Hotel would be demolished for Central Library / Turanga
New Regent St restoration: Still not opened to the public, despite CERA promises. Several orange, Hi-Vis vested workmen stood around talking behind a steel mesh fence. A common sight in Christchurch over the last 2 quake years: steel mesh fence cordons & slack workmen wearing orange, Hi-Vis vests.
06.03.13. Gloucester St view, New Regent St restoration, N red zone. BNZ behind would be demolished
Gloucester St: Isaac Theatre Royal, no change, auditorium still gutted in the red zone. Not a workman in sight.
06.03.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Red crane. Isaac Theatre Royal restoration, Gloucester St, N red zone
Forsyth Barr still gutted, abandoned, in the red zone. Not a workman in sight. Forsyth Barr would be restored as Crowne Plaza Hotel.
06.03.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Gloucester St view, abandoned Forsyth Barr, N red zone. Forsyth Barr would be restored as Crowne Plaza Hotel
Farmers demolition site, red zone: Couple of diggers drilled concrete foundations & another unmanned digger & unmanned machine waited to crunch concrete into rubble. Steel mesh fence cordon, threat signs:
DANGER
DEMOLITION
SITE
KEEP OUT
06.03.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Farmers demolition site, Gloucester St / Colombo St, N red zone. Central Library left awaited demolition. Craigs House & Victoria Square flats awaited demolition behind right, for NZ National govt's / CERA's Blueprint Convention Centre / Te Pae
No rebuilding along Gloucester St red zone. Construction firm vehicles were parked by closed Novotel & Camelot Hotel ghost, obscuring the view of Christ Church Cathedral ghost. Orange, Hi-Vis vested workmen in hard hats idled.
06.03.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. 2 cranes. Gloucester St view, Christ church Cathedral ruined nave, north transept, S red zone. Novotel wall left. Camelot Hotel right would be demolished for Central Library / Turanga rebuild
06.03.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Cathedral Sq, NZDF checkpoint view, quake ruined Christ Church Cathedral, S red zone
06.03.13. Orange, plastic, road cones, steel mesh fence cordon, NZDF checkpoint hut right. Cathedral Sq, NZDF checkpoint view, Christ Church Cathedral part demolished tower, collapsed W facade, S red zone. Chalice middle, cop kiosk right, both would survive the quakes, but the cop kiosk would be demolished in 2021
Gloucester St / Manchester St: NZDF checkpoint & steel mesh fence cordon, red zone. Same as when I last trekked by. Cathedral Sq demolitions, like Government Life ghost, nothing going on. Workmen did Novotel repairs.
06.03.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Cathedral Sq, NZDF checkpoint view, Government Life awaited demolition, S red zone
06.03.12. Steel mesh fence cordon. Yellow crane. Cathedral Sq, NZDF checkpoint view, abandoned Camelot Hotel & Novotel undergoing repairs, S red zone. Camelot Hotel would be demolished for Central Library / Turanga rebuild
Chancery Ln Arcade: Behind a red zone, steel mesh fence cordon, nothing going on, Chancery Ln Arcade ghost would be demolished for NZ National govt's / CERA's Blueprint Convention Centre / Te Pae.
06.03.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Gloucester St view, abandoned Chancery Ln Arcade, S red zone. Chancery Ln Arcade would be demolished for NZ National govt's / CERA's Blueprint Convention Centre
Gloucester St, Central Library ghost: Still leaf littered, behind a red zone, steel mesh fence cordon. Nothing going on. Central Library would be demolished for NZ National govt's / CERA's Blueprint Convention Centre / Te Pae.
06.03.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Abandoned Central Library, Gloucester St, N red zone. Central Library would be demolished for NZ National govt's / CERA's Blueprint Convention Centre / Te Pae
06.03.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Gloucester St Bridge view, Brannigans demolition site. Government Life awaited demolition, S red zone
Gloucester St / Durham St Nth: Provincial Council ghost, red zone cordoned. Since I last passed, no further restoration going on. Not a workman in sight. 2021. Provincial Council ghost, steel cladded roof & walls, still no restoration!
06.03.13. Gloucester St Bridge view, Provincial Council's halted restoration, N red zone. 2021. Still no restoration!
06.03.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Amuri Courts carpark demolition site left, Provincial Council halted restoration right, N red zone, Durham St Nth. Awly Building, multi-storey offices would be build on Amuri Courts demo site
06.03.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Provincial Council restoration door, Durham St Nth, N red zone. White tarp covered the removed roof. Later replaced by a protective metal roof & metal sides, awaiting prolonged restoration. 2021. Still no restoration!
Armagh St Bridge: Still steel mesh fence cordoned. Red zone, high rise ghosts, Craigs House & Victoria Square flats lined Victoria Sq, awaiting demolition along Armagh St for NZ National govt's / CERA's Blueprint Convention Centre / Te Pae. PWC high rise was gone, demolished months before. Court House ghosts were steel mesh fence cordoned, Victoria Sq side.
Victoria Sq: Steel mesh fence cordoned, empty, no rebuilds going on around Victoria Sq. Not a workman in sight.
06.03.13. ROAD CLOSED. Steel mesh fence cordon. Armagh St Bridge view, Craigs House & Victoria Square flats awaited demolition, N red zone, for NZ National govt's / CERA's Blueprint Convention Centre / Te Pae
06.03.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Armagh St Bridge view, Courthouse bldgs, N red zone
Ghost Forsyth Barr / Crowne Plaza Hotel loomed through Victoria Sq trees.
06.03.13. Victoria Sq view, abandoned Forsyth Barr / Crowne Plaza Hotel N red zone
Town Hall ghost was behind the red zone, steel mesh fence cordon. Brick steps & dandelion fountains were trashed. Ivy grew down the steps towards Avon River. Not a workman in sight. An Avon punt slid downstream, CERA's idea for attracting tourists.
Town Hall would be restored by Council, 2016.
06.03.13. Victoria Sq view, Avon punters by abandoned Christchurch Town Hall, N red zone. Town Hall would be restored by Council, 2016
06.03.13. Victoria Sq: Quake damaged, ivy overgrown, Christchurch Town Hall steps, N red zone
06.03.13. Quake damaged, weedy, dandelion fountain, Town Hall, Avon River, Victoria Sq, N red zone. Town Hall would be restored by Council, 2016
06.03.13. Victoria Sq: Pre quake tourist sign, Christchurch Town Hall, N red zone
06.03.13. Pre quake CBD streets sign, Victoria Bridge, Victoria Sq, N red zone
Victoria Sq, Floral Clock wheezed behind the N red zone, steel mesh fence cordon, near Courthouse ghost.
06.03.13. Steel mesh fence cordoned, floral clock by Courthouse, Victoria Sq, N red zone
Kilmore St / Durham St Nth: Pallet Pavilion on Crowne Plaza Hotel demolition site: Takeaway food trailers stood by, awaiting customers. A red digger drilled concrete foundations at Salvation Army demolition site.
06.03.13. Red digger. Yellow digger. Salvation Army demolition site by Courthouse, Durham St Nth
06.03.13. Takeaway trailers, Pallet Pavilion, Crowne Plaza Hotel demolition site, Durham St Nth / Kilmore St. Spicers ghost behind would be demolished for a law office rebuild
06.03.13. Pallet Pavilion view, demolition site left, Durham St Nth / Victoria St / Kilmore St crossing middle, Christchurch Casino right
06.03.13. Pallet Pavilion view, Victoria Sq & N red zone, Durham St Nth / Kilmore St. Abandoned Forsyth Barr left would be restored as Crowne Plaza Hotel. Victoria Square flats & Craigs House awaited demolition middle for NZ National govt's / CERA's Blueprint Convention Centre / Te Pae. Courthouse right
Opp Christchurch Casino: A yellow digger was parked on a demolition site where a restaurant once traded.
06.03.13. Yellow digger. Demolition site, abandoned bldgs, Kilmore St / Durham St Nth, N red zone
Durham St Nth / Peterborough St: Since the 22.02.11 Killer Quake, Guardian Trust ghost: concrete floor dug down in places to foundation level. A yellow sticker & fading USAR / TF graffiti still soiled glass doors. In a cnr, office furniture was stacked for relocation.
06.03.13. Yellow sticker, fading USAR / TF graffiti, Guardian Trust door, Durham St Nth / Peterborough St
Peterborough St: I was so bored at the lack of Brownlee vaunted rebuilds in the red zone, I went to Peterborough St Library. There was more action in the library from readers, librarians & public at computers than orange, Hi-Vis vested, rebuild workmen in the red zone. Brownlee's delusional "rebuild" wasn't happening.
There'd be little rebuild in CERA occupied CBD for the next couple of years. During that time, most rebuild projects were done by private sector developers, not CERA. Only in May 2015 would the rebuild Bus Interchange be completed between Lichfield St & Tuam St. CERA's other Blueprint anchor projects: Convention Centre / Te Pae, Stadium, Metro Sports Facility, Justice & Emergency Services Precinct, Margaret Mahy Family Playground... nothing happening, yet.
Margaret Mahy Family Playground by Manchester St Bridge would open early 2016. E Frame / Rauora Park would open 2017. Justice & Emergency Services Precinct would be built between Lichfield St & Tuam St, 2015-16. The Convention Centre / Te Pae, between Victoria Sq & Cathedral Sq would be built, 2018-21. New Central Library / Turanga would open 2018. Piles for Metro Sports Facility foundations would be sunk 2018. Stadium: manana... Christ Church Cathedral reinstatement: manana...
Peterborough St: Convention Centre demolition site, opp temp Central Library. I looked through the red zone, steel mesh fence cordon to Town Hall ghost, demolition trucks & a fire engine parked in front. So much for Brownlee's rebuild zone. 2021. Plans would be made for apartments, hotel & shops to be built on the Convention Centre demo site.
06.03.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Peterborough St, Convention Centre demolition site view, abandoned Town Hall, N red zone. 2016. Town Hall would be restored by Council. 2021. Plans would be made for apartments, hotel & shops to be built on the Convention Centre demo site.
Colombo St / Kilmore St: Aha! A new Italian restaurant was surrounded by demolition sites near Town Hall ghost. But the restaurant was closed, no lunchtime business, demolition sites both sides.
06.03.13. Italian restaurant, Colombo St
Opp cnr: Another NZDF checkpoint, a soldier checked vehicles entering the red zone. A Fletcher construction site, with workmen constructing Forte Health, a 3 storey, steel frame bldg, on the block bordered by Kilmore St, Colombo St, Peterborough St. The private sector was fast with construction projects, while CERA was slow. Fletcher built Forte Health on Avon River swampland, easily seen on the 1856 Black Map. (Council website). Never mind the underground stream traversing Kilmore St & nearby CBD streets. (2021. I would visit my ENT surgeon at Forte Health. She would do my Cochlear Implant surgery at St George's Hospital, Papanui Rd).
Steel mesh fence cordon, Construction threat signs:
Hard Hats
to be worn
Be Aware
of Hazards!
ATTENTION
ALL PEOPLE ENTERING
THIS SITE MUST READ
THE HAZARD ID BOARD
AND MUST SIGN IN
EVERYDAY
ALL RELEVANT SAFETY GEAR
MUST ALSO BE WORN
PRIOR TO ENTERING WORK AREAS
06.03.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Forte Health construction site, Colombo St / Kilmore St, N red zone
CERA had two NZDF checkpoints on Colombo St, within 2 blocks of each other: Kilmore St crossing checkpoint & Gloucester St crossing checkpoint. Variable NZDF checkpoints had banned citizens from the red zone CBD ever since the 22.02.11 Killer Quake.
Checkpoint threat sign:
NO
PUBLIC
ACCESS
PAST THIS POINT
CERA PASSES ONLY
Despite citizens surviving 11 000 quakes & enduring CERA's occupation of its Zombie CBD for nearly 2 years, CERA still treated citizens like idiots. Brownlee's prattling pertained, as his rebuild wishes did not match reality, so far.
06.03.13. NO PUBLIC ACCESS. Orange, plastic, road cones, steel mesh fence cordon. NZDF checkpoint, Colombo St / Kilmore St, N red zone. Abandoned Town Hall behind. Town Hall would be restored by Council, 2016
06.03.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Peterborough St view, Forte Health construction site, N red zone. Abandoned Ernst & Young left awaited demolition
Manchester St: No rebuilds. Several demolition sites both sides of the street, including Verkerks. Behind the red zone, steel mesh fence cordon, water sprayers sprayed a legume / grass mix. CERA had done dust-laying grass & flower seeding, to be continued by demolition site owners. Headline, CERA's Greater Christchurch Recovery Update, Issue 19, March 2013: "Flower meadow starts to come to life in the central city." Flower meadow huh? Would CERA grass & flower vast Avon River tracts it had acquired in residential red zone areas: 7 000+ red zone houses demolished by CERA? For months, people living near residential red zones endured CERA demolition dust & SCIRT excavation dust.
CERA seeding some demolition sites near Town Hall ghost was PR spin, as most demolition sites around town had normal plant succession, mostly weeds, like ragwort. On weekly shopping trips to Moorhouse Ave, I drove past Laycocks demolition site, Durham St Nth / Salisbury St. Masses of ragwort stood about 2 m high there, growing quicker than Brownlee's rebuild.
Leah, teaching at her London St school, endured months of demolition dust from nearby Richmond Working Mens Club & SCIRT excavation dust from London St, Pavitt St & Cumberland St sewer excavations. Mon 11.03.13, Leah came home with a sore head after continual banging of SCIRT excavators on Cumberland St. Her class was closest to Cumberland St, about 25m away. Leah's headaches went on all week. She wasn't prone to headaches prior to SCIRT's demo bangings & joltings.
Some demolitions continued for months, huge gaps between demolition phases. Examples: Richmond Working Mens Club & The Odeon Theatre, with flies demolished, then the gutted auditorium exposed to weathering for years, Manchester St / Tuam St. Knox Church, Bealey Ave / Victoria St was exposed to weathering for 2 years before restoration. Chinese Methodist Church, Papanui Rd / Rugby St, part demolished & exposed for 2 years then rebuilt. Anglican & RC cathedrals, only part demolished, more than 2 years post 22.02.11 Killer Quake, surrounded by cordon fencing.
In the Update, CERA boasted: "The inner city cordon has now reduced from 387 hectares in February 2011 to just 38 hectares." CERA avoided calling it a military cordon, manned by NZDF, checkpoint soldiers, banning citizens from CERA's occupation of Christchurch CBD.
06.03.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Manchester St view, Forte Health construction site, new grass, N red zone
Manchester St / Kilmore St, St Lukes Anglican Church demolition site: Chartres Cathedral brick maze improvements by volunteers laying brick paving & wood mulch.
Manchester St / Cambridge Tce: Canterbury Manufacturers Association demolition site: Chestnut tree, "Orange Tree" art work, lurid orange tape swaddling tree trunk & branches.
06.03.13. Weedy, Canterbury Manufacturers Association demo site, Manchester St / Cambridge Tce
06.03.13. "Orange Tree" orange taped chestnut tree, Canterbury Manufacturers Association demo site, Manchester St / Cambridge Tce. 2015. Canterbury Manufacturers Association site would be a small park
Manchester St Bridge: View across Avon River into red zone Zombie CBD. Not a workman in sight. A quake split wall on the riverbank teetered by the decapitated copper dome of Retour Restaurant. The copper dome lay on the riverbank opp PGC demo site, where 18 people died in the 22.02.11 Killer Quake. The rest of Retour Restaurant was gone, demolished. 2015. Retour Restaurant copper dome would be plastic wrapped & left on the riverbank. Aug 2019. The plastic wrapped, copper dome would still be on the riverbank. 2020-21. Edmonds Band Rotunda would be restored.
06.03.13. Manchester St Bridge view, quake broken, retaining wall, Avon River embankment, Cambridge Tce, N red zone. Abandoned Rydges Hotel beyond awaited demolition
06.03.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Manchester St Bridge view, decapitated Retour Restaurant, copper dome, Cambridge Tce, N red zone. 2015. Retour Restaurant dome would be plastic wrapped. Abandoned Ernst & Young behind awaited demolition. Aug 2019. The plastic wrapped, copper dome would still be on the riverbank. 2020-21. Edmonds Band Rotunda would be restored
Manchester St: I trekked past demolition sites & looked into the Zombie red zone at Oxford Tce & Armagh St crossings. No workmen seen. From what I saw of Brownlee's / CERA's rebuild pace, the CBD rebuild would take decades.
Despite CERA's Zombie CBD, CERA's CCDU Update boasted: "The owners of 58 commercial CBD properties have already agreed to sell to the Crown.
Contracts have been signed for 31 properties and agreement in principle reached with another 27 owners.
The Crown is seeking to buy 350 properties in total under the Christchurch Central Recovery Plan. Negotiations - many of them in an advanced stage - are ongoing with 182 of the properties."
Zombie CBD: NZ National govt was using taxpayers' money to shrink the core CBD by speculating on CCDU's Frame land, buying & demolishing perfectly good, quake survivor bldgs & replacing them with parkland.
Despite shutting down the CBD for 2 years already, NZ National govt / CERA / CCDU had no proven idea how to encourage the return of commercial enterprises & residents back to CERA's Zombie CBD. CERA's CCDU Blueprint was a taxpayer funded wish list. Never mind that CCDU's Blueprint planned rebuilding the CBD on liquefactioned swampland above Christchurch Fault, which had trashed Cashel Mall & damaged the CBD in the 24.12.10 Boxing Day Quake. Never mind damages caused by subsequent quakes.
06.13.13. Manchester St / Oxford Tce crossing view, demolition junk, orange digger, abandoned bldgs, N red zone
06.03.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Manchester St view, weedy demolition site, abandoned, N red zone bldgs
06.03.13. ROAD CLOSED. Steel mesh fence cordon. Manchester St / Armagh St crossing view, abandoned N red zone bldgs
Manchester St, near Gloucester St crossing: City Seafood Market was abandoned behind a steel mesh fence cordon. Weeds grew on the pavement. Next door Youth Hostel Association was also abandoned behind a steel mesh fence cordon & weeds. USAR / TF graffiti faded on a window pane. City Seafood Market & YHA would survive the quakes.
06.03.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Abandoned, quake survivor, City Seafood Market, Manchester St, N red zone
06.03.13. Abandoned YHA, Manchester St, N red zone. Quake closed, Pacific Tower / Rendezvous Hotel behind. Both bldgs would survive the quakes
06.03.13. Steel mesh fence cordon. Abandoned, cordoned YHA, Manchester St, N red zone. YHA would survive the quakes
06.03.13. Fading USAR / TF graffiti, abandoned YHA, Manchester St, N red zone. YHA would survive the quakes
There was no sign of CERA's vaunted Avon River Precinct, nor any Council work thereon, supposed Frame parkland, to entice kids back to the CBD. Three years later, Margaret Mahy Family Playground would open early 2016.
CERA boss Sutton wanted to encourage people back to his Zombie CBD by tendering out more tours, like bike tours & walking tours for tourists. Never mind bus tours already tendered by CERA. If months before CERA had dropped its citizen banning, NZDF cordons & NZDF soldier checkpoints, locals might've been more interested in Brownlee's "rebuild" zone.
CERA was keen to hear proposals for the following CBD tours: "walking tours, cycling tours, tuk-tuks, Sedgways, mini-vans, limousines." CERA considered it safe for tour operators to conduct tours in the red zone CBD, yet considered the red zone CBD too dangerous for citizens like myself, who'd endured 11 000 quakes, to wander the red zone CBD on our own. Without paying of course. Why wasn't CERA doing tours in Christchurch E suburbs, showing quake trashed squalor?
CERA's latest: CERA's CBD red zone cordon / rebuild zone cordon, would be completely opened in June. Meanwhile Christ Church Cathedral case ambled along. Deadline promises, then delays, CERA's modus operandi. Two years post 22.02.11 Killer Quake, CERA was mired in muddle. Examples:
Last winter, CERA minister Brownlee said there was no housing crisis. Yet Council housing by Avon River & elsewhere was red zoned by CERA. Recently Brownlee bollocked a councillor for slow repairs of Council housing. If there was no housing crisis, why fuss to speed up Council housing repairs? And why wasn't NZ National govt / CERA rebuilding quake damaged, state housing in Christchurch?
Whatever Crown offer a red zoner accepted, the Crown acquired all the 7000+ residential red zone lands it had red zoned via CERA. With CERA's imminent demolition of those 7 000+ red zone, ghost houses, Brownlee reckoned there was no housing crisis!
Meanwhile, CERA's Crown offer to about 100 bare land owners:
Half Rateable Value for uninsurable bare land, no house on the land.
Just because bare land was uninsurable, CERA discriminated against bare land owners with cheapskate, half Rateable Value offers?
And where was CERA's promised advocacy service for red zoners having difficulties with slow insurers?
Sat 06.04.13. Greater Christchurch Recovery Update, Issue 20, April 2013, "SCIRT key projects April 2013:
Stanmore Rd from Avonside Dr to North Avon Rd will be one way, north only, from early April for 8-10 weeks. Several work crews from two SCIRT delivery teams, Downer and MacDow, will be working at the same time to reduce the time the road is one way and minimise the flow-on effects on businesses. Both waste water and storm water pipes will be repaired. London Street will also be fully closed to traffic from Perth Street to Stanmore Road for six weeks from late March..."
More headaches for Leah due to excavator & truck noise, dust & joltings. More detours for months besieging Leah's school. Leah complained about machine noise & joltings & dust aggravation for months. She disliked visiting CERA's red zone, cordoned CBD, as continual dust irritated her. I dreaded to think of all the excavation & demolition nasties in the dust: bacterial spores from sewage, demolition asbestos & arsenic, copper & chromium from treated wood.
CERA listed 4 more SCIRT April projects in Christchurch. Stanmore Rd / London St excavation hassles by SCIRT was just one example of many excavation hassles caused by SCIRT around Christchurch over the last couple of years.
*Trekked Christchurch Botanic Gdns, Gloucester St, Cathedral Sq, Durham St Nth, Armagh St, Victoria Sq, Peterborough St, Colombo St, Kilmore St, Manchester St. 73 snaps.
Content & pics Copyright Mark JS Esslemont.
See CERA's new tourism opportunities in the rebuild zone, 06.03.13.
See CERA boss Roger Sutton's update 04.03.13.
See Rebuild delays stretch patience (The Press / Stuff Co).
See Social housing is council's shame Brownlee (The Press / Stuff Co).
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