Earlier this month, the Church Property Trustees (CPT) published an update to their Earthquake-prone Church Buildings Policy. The updated policy responds to issues raised at General Assembly 2016.
The Trustees advise key changes are as follows:
- the timetable for finding out the state of church buildings remains unchanged
- the timetable for taking remedial action, especially for low-risk buildings and regions, has been lengthened
- a new category of parapets and facades that could topple onto public spaces has been added, and CPT now require these structures to be addressed urgently.
Read the full Earthquake-prone Church Buildings Policy for full details.
It is important to note that the policy only applies to buildings north of the Waitaki River. All property south of the Waitaki River is held by the Synod of Otago and Southland, which is responsible for its own policy on building safety.