Facilities  |  15 Jun 2021

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The old Sockburn Service Centre building on Main South Road is about to be demolished.

Christchurch City Council has engaged contractors Taggarts to pull down the two-storey building, which has sat unoccupied since it was badly damaged in the February 2011 earthquake.

Six other smaller buildings on the Main South Road site will also be demolished, with demolition work due to start within two weeks.

A water reservoir and pump station on the site will be retained.

“The Sockburn Service Centre building has been assessed by engineers as earthquake-prone and for safety reasons has been cordoned off since the earthquakes,’’ says Council Head of Facilities, Property and Planning Bruce Rendall.

“The Council has decided it is uneconomic to repair the building so it is going to be demolished and the site cleared. We expect the demolition work will take about 12 weeks to complete,’’ Mr Rendall says.

Councillor Jimmy Chen, who represents the Hornby ward, is pleased the building is coming down.

“Unfortunately in the years the building has sat unoccupied it has been repeatedly attacked by vandals and it has become a bit of an eye-sore. I’m sure many in the local community will be pleased to see it demolished and the site cleared,’’ Cr Chen says.

The Council is currently considering the future of the site through its Draft 2021-31 Long Term Plan.

Parts of the Sockburn Service Centre building date back to 1958. The building was originally single storey, but a new two-storey structure was built over the top of the original building in 1971.