Red zone demolition behind schedule

Demolition of the residential red zone is behind schedule - but the Government has a plan.

New figures show about 38 per cent of the nearly 8000 homes in the Canterbury residential red zone have been demolished.

The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (Cera) had hoped to demolish 3000 homes by June this year, but this target was not reached until September due to insurance delays.

Implementation deputy director Baden Ewart said the clearance process was slower than expected.

"We have all wished this could be faster. We want this to double in pace by the end of the year," he said.

"This process has had its challenges. We are now in a place where we can get in and clear that land. Now we can get the engine going and get the properties off the land."

Cera has agreements in principal with insurance companies for a plan they hope will accelerate demolition. Cera, EQC and insurance companies will focus on one area at a time so about 15 homes can be cleared for demolition in one go. The approach has been trialled on three sites and tenders for wholesale demolition will go out soon.

Ewart said he hoped they would be demolishing about 100 homes a week by the end of the year. For the 12 months to September, about 40 homes have been demolished a week on average. The average since demolition began in January 2011 is about 23 homes a week.

Cera has a target of 5,000 homes demolished on flat land by June next year, with the remainder of flat land homes demolished by the end of 2014. Port Hills clearance will take until the end of 2015 at the earliest.

"The time taken has been necessary because of the way insurance contracts work and the offers were voluntary so people needed time. We would have liked to have got the work underway quicker," said Ewart.

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Red zone demolition behind schedule