Christchurch mansions set to be demolished

Published: 7:34PM Wednesday April 23, 2014 Source: ONE News

The next phase of major demolition work is about to begin on quake ruined homes left teetering over cliffs on Christchurch's seaside hilltops.

The task of demolishing more than 300 homes on very unstable ground is extremely dangerous and has taken a team of technical experts years to organise.

A multi-million dollar Port Hills mansion will be part of the first cluster of homes to be knocked down over the next 20 days.

"The properties on the cliff face pose a risk to falling over the cliff and to traffic and bystanders at the bottom so we're removing these top properties to create access for summertime so we can get in and move the more dangerous ones," says demolitions leader Tom Newton.

More than 300 Crown-owned properties have to go by 2016 in a new partnership between CERA, Southern Response and Arrow International.

The project is only getting underway more than three years after the quakes forced homeowners to flee.

"Getting here is difficult...it's hard to access the properties and to do the inspections geotechnically and structurally," says CERA's Brenden Winder.

Internal stripping of the homes is now almost complete. The next phase will see the excavators and demolition crews move in under close watch.

A full evacuation plan is in place in the event the unstable land beneath should move significantly. An air siren will sound and all construction workers will have to move to higher ground.

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Christchurch mansions set to be demolished