Around 6,000 homes earmarked for demolition in February spree.
Demolition of more than 6,000 Christchurch red-zone homes will start in February, flattening entire suburbs.
The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (Cera) has already taken possession of more than 1,000 red-zone homes under the government buyout deal and will demolish the first “clusters” of properties early next year.
The scale of demolition is unprecedented in New Zealand. Private insurers and the Government are expected to spend about $150 million and take more than two years to clear large swathes of Christchurch and Kaiapoi.
However, authorities will have to tread carefully around remaining residents, with a Cera survey in October showing about 60 per cent of homes in the residential red zone were still occupied.
Cera residential red-zone manager Baden Ewart said authorities will try to work around occupied homes but dust, noise and vibrations would be unavoidable over the next two years.
Demolition work would be contracted out in clusters of 10 to 30 homes.
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