Kaiapoi houses on park

MARC GREENHILL

Last updated 05:00 29/04/2011

 

A Kaiapoi sports ground will become the temporary home for the first of more than 200 earthquake-hit Waimakariri residents.

The cluster of 25 units, for people forced to relocate from Kaiapoi, Pines Beach and Kairaki because of September quake damage, will be built on the Kaiapoi Domain.

Waimakariri District Mayor David Ayers said yesterday up to 200 units would be needed at the height of the rebuild, which would take up to three years.

"This is just the beginning of what we need. The first areas [to be remediated] are quite small, and we know some people will have their own places to go to," he said.

The homes, to be built by Spanbild, will be in use by June, although the site's design has not been finalised.

Disruption to other residents was expected to be minimal, Ayers said.

Keeping relocated residents near shops, schools, friends and family was necessary, but using sports fields was not the preferred option, he said.

"Sports are important to the community," he said. "There are junior rugby league fields [at the domain], but we should be able to work around that."

The domain will house the first cluster only, with the council looking to private landowners to help house the rest. Ayers was "hopeful" the space would be offered.

"We need to have land which we can get sewerage and water to quickly," he said.

"From the point of view of keeping the Kaiapoi commercial centre going, we certainly don't want to move more people out of Kaiapoi."