4 Aug 2016

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An option for repairing the quake-damaged South Library and Beckenham Service Centre has been agreed upon by Christchurch City Council’s Communities, Housing and Economic Development Committee.

The Committee has decided to recommend the Council spend $8.6 million repairing and strengthening the building to 100 per cent of the New Building Standard.

It is the cheapest of three options put forward by Council staff and the one staff had recommended to the Committee.

The other options looked at involved replacing the foundations and relevelling the building, but the costs were much higher at $14 million and $16.2 million respectively.

The option favoured by the Committee was considered by Council staff to offer the best value for money. It was also the most environmentally friendly option and meant the library would only need to shut for a relatively short period of time, in comparison with the other options.

The estimated construction period was 10 to 12 months, compared with between 16 and 20 months for the other options.

The work on the South Library and Beckenham Service Centre is not programmed to begin until August 2018, by which point the new Central Library should be open.