Redcliffs School decision announced

Redcliffs School will be relocated to Redcliffs Park, Education Minister Hekia Parata has announced.

The earthquake damaged Christchurch school has been awaiting a decision on its fate since it was closed following the June 2011 aftershock. 

Education Minister Hekia Parata said today the move to an alternative site in Redcliffs was the best option for the School.

“After considering all the analysis, I have come to the decision that moving the school away from the current site under the cliffs is the best option for the future of Redcliffs School,” Ms Parata said.

An aerial view of Redcliffs School following the June 2011 earthquake

“Every option has been carefully considered, including remaining at the Main Road site. Relocating the school to the nearby Redcliffs Park will benefit not only the current school community, but future students, staff and the whole Redcliffs community.”

One of the major benefits of moving to Redcliffs Park would be the larger site, which meant the school would have more room to grow in the future, and allowed the option of exploring co-located and shared community facilities.

“My main concern has always been for the well-being of the children. So as part of the decision-making process, a further investigation into the potential psychosocial effects on children attending school at the Main Road site was carried out.

“It found that although the risk of negative psychosocial impacts could be mitigated for most children, this would place additional responsibilities on staff to address and implement the mitigation measures if the school remained on the site, and this is not something that the Ministry of Education or the current board can guarantee in the long term.”

A study assessing the feasibility of relocating Redcliffs School had also been carried out and identified Redcliffs Park, which is owned by the Christchurch City Council, as the most suitable location.

“I have spoken with Mayor Dalziel, who has reiterated her support for a school based in the Redcliffs community, and I look forward to quickly getting through the necessary land processes,” Ms Parata said.

A detailed analysis would be undertaken on Redcliffs Park to find the best site on that land for the school. Redcliffs School would continue sharing the site at Van Asch Deaf Education Centre until the new site was ready, which would likely be by mid-2019.

Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel welcomed today’s announcement.

“Redcliffs School and the local community have been tireless in their efforts to ensure their school community is kept together. They never gave up in their bid to prove the case for a local school and they should feel today’s decision is just reward for their efforts,” she said.

“While members of the community might have preferred the school to remain at its original site, relocating the school to a new location in Redcliffs is still a good result as it has the advantage of not requiring rockfall mitigation measures. The community now has certainty about the school’s future, which will ultimately have a positive impact on the entire community’s well-being.

The Mayor said Council staff provided advice to the Ministry of Education, as they considered alternative sites for the school and would continue to work closely with the Ministry and the local community to support relocation to Redcliffs Park.

“This outcome shows that the local community has been listened to and everyone can now start looking forward to re-establishing Redcliffs School in the heart of Redcliffs.”