28 April 2006

Alternate regional Civil Defence hub in Waitakere

A new $2.5 million Civil Defence Emergency Operations Centre in Waitakere will serve as an alternate headquarters for the Auckland Region.

Waitakere City Council approved a preliminary design and further funding at its April meeting.

A 472 square metre, two level headquarters will replace the existing building in Elcoat Ave, Glendene, housing a communications centre, emergency operations training room and five staff. The centre will predominantly serve Waitakere's needs but will also be available for regional activities.

Councillor Derek Battersby, Chair of the Emergency Services Special Committee, says the new purpose built centre will be able to take the place of Auckland, in the event of the regional hub being unusable.

"Waitakere's Civil Defence centre will become a regional centre for emergency management, should Auckland be unavailable," he says.

The centre will also be available to community groups, essential services and Council staff for trainings," says Councillor Battersby.

Civil Defence operations have expanded since the existing centre was built around 1960, so the Council resolved to investigate a preliminary concept in August last year.

Eco-friendly design means features such as a rain water storage tank, solar hot water and a range of ventilation options will be standard. Windows will be able to be manually opened, but a full mechanical ventilation system will allow efficient ventilation in the event of a cyclone or volcanic eruption.

The centre is expected to be finished by June 2007.

Timeline:

April 2006 Preliminary design approved
April-June 2006 Developed design
July 2006 Developed design approved
June-August 2006 Resource consent process
July-August 2006 Detailed design
August-Sept 2006 Building consent process
August-Oct 2006 Tender process
November-May 2007 Construction and commissioning
June 2007 Building handover

ENDS

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