Nelson City Council has made the decision to close Stoke Memorial Hall, The Refinery and the Hounsell Circle Bus Shelter to the public by the end of March.

All the buildings are known to be earthquake-prone. Although none of the buildings pose any immediate danger to the community, Council is not prepared to accept the level of risk they present should an earthquake occur.

A reassessment of Stoke Memorial Hall undertaken at the end of last year found its original 2014 assessment of 24% of the New Building Standard (NBS) at Importance Level 2 (IL2) - a measure of its ability to withstand an earthquake – should be revised to 17% NBS at Importance Level 3 (IL3).

Any building under 34% NBS is considered earthquake-prone.

The reassessment also specified that the masonry infill panels that line the Hall were a critical structural weakness, and that should the Hall fail in the event of an earthquake, it posed a risk to the former Stoke Seniors building behind it.

Because of this, the Stoke Memorial Hall will be closed from 29 March 2020.

The former Stoke Seniors building will also be temporarily unavailable from that date, while Council assesses options to mitigate the risk posed by the Hall.

The next steps for both buildings will be considered through the Annual Plan 2020/21 process, and in consultation with the community. Funding to strengthen the Stoke Memorial Hall has been allocated in Council’s current Long Term Plan for work in 2024/25, but this will now be reviewed.

Council has also reviewed its other earthquake-prone buildings and as a result, The Refinery, at 3 Halifax St, and the Hounsell Circle Bus Shelter in Tahunanui will also close.

The Refinery, leased by Arts Council Nelson, will close in the next two weeks. It was given an NBS rating of less than 15% at IL2 in 2012 and is scheduled to undergo earthquake strengthening in 2020/21.

New earthquake-prone building assessment criteria have been introduced since The Refinery was first assessed, and a subsequent review of the building in February found more work is required, including geotechnical analysis.

As a result, Council has determined the building poses an unacceptable level of risk to its users and as the safety of its occupants is Council’s first priority, it has been decided the building will close until strengthening work is completed.

Council is working with the community to find Arts Council Nelson a new temporary home. Strengthening work on the building will take place as scheduled.

Group Manager Community Services Roger Ball said Council staff were meeting Arts Council staff in-person to help them transition to a new venue and with affected community groups.

“We recognise the inconvenience closing these buildings has on those who use them, and we will do our best to minimise the disruption. In light of the reassessments, we cannot in good conscience, allow members of the community to continue to occupy these spaces.

“While the three buildings were already known to be earthquake-prone, a combination of updated assessments and improved knowledge about seismic issues in buildings has led us to act now.”

The Hounsell Circle Bus Shelter is not part of the current transport route and will be fenced off.

As part of the review of earthquake-prone buildings, Council has also reassessed unoccupied buildings.

As a result, Council is now looking to bring forward the removal of the former Mediterranean Foods building at 23 Halifax Street, scheduled to occur by January 2022, to remove any risk to neighbouring buildings posed by that building failing.

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