Canterbury farewells destructive year

A flag flies at half mast outside a destroyed home in Seabreeze Close. Photo / Greg Bowker

As Canterbury farewells a destructive year, residents in the street worst affected by September's earthquake may spend another two Christmases waiting for their homes to be rebuilt.

Many of the houses on Seabreeze Close sit at odd angles, twisted by the earth that churned around them, and a number of residents in the street have left, their homes no-longer habitable.

Those that stayed are in limbo, awaiting word on when their houses, which are too damaged to be repaired, will be demolished and rebuilt.

They have been told it could be as late as 2013.

At number 4 Seabreeze Close, Chris Holmes said his house sits on a slant.

"I call it shaken, but not stirred - it's sort of on an angle from the bedroom down to the entrance way where the garage is. You walk upwards when you go to the bedroom at night," Mr Holmes said.

Chris and his wife Sue bought their property five years ago and spend $25,000 landscaping this year only to have it destroyed on September 4.

With their children all out of the nest, the couple were looking around for something a home that was smaller and more manageable.

"We wanted to move on because the place is too big for us. Now we are stopped in our tracks," Mr Holmes said.

"We found somewhere who was going to build a house for us and we signed on the dotted line and everything like that. But of course with the earthquake, that's all up in the air. We're not going to get the money for the house that we'd originally would have got if we sold it."

It is not just their house which needs fixing, as Mr Holmes said his land also needs repair.

"What they've got to do is they've got to take the house down and remediate the land and then put the house back on it, to the exact standard prior to the earthquake."

But Mr Holmes has no idea when his house will rebuilt and must "sit around and wait" for the Earthquake Commission and insurance companies to decide.

"We're staying here until whatever happens. It's terrible that we have to sit around till 2013 waiting for people to make up their mind," he said.

Down the street at number 18, Keith Lush is just as frustrated.

"I'm insured with AMI and I still haven't seen them. As I'm talking to you right now, I do not know officially whether the house is going to come down or stay up," Mr Lush said.

As with many in his neighbourhood, Mr Lush's house shifted on its foundations during the earthquake.

"The whole back-end of the house sunk into the earth. You can't see any of the foundations of the house anymore - they're totally gone so my house has also moved to one side. I've got downpipes that are coming down and going into the earth, they're totally missing the drain."

Mr Lush was told six weeks ago by his insurer that he would be seen within two weeks, but he has had no word and assessors have not turned up.

"When they say it's going to be two weeks, then it should be two weeks. If they said to be six weeks then it's six weeks, so you feel a little bit let down."

Another on Seabreeze Close, Lavina Pockson, said her insurance company confirmed cover for her property but, like the others, has no clue when the demolition and rebuilding process will begin.

"We got a letter from the Earthquake Commission saying that the first lot of houses should be rebuilt by August next year and the rest will be rebuilt by 2013. We have no idea where we are within that timeline," she said.

"But I doubt we will be in that first lot - we're not holding out breath on that one. I don't think anyone in Christchurch knows where they sit yet - we're still playing that waiting game."

Ms Pockson said her family is living out of boxes because they do not know how long they will be staying.

"We weren't here for about a month, but we moved back in. It's been a bit of a frustrating time as we try to find things that have been put it boxes, and we can't really be bothered unpacking because we don't know what's happening," she said.

Despite being unable to layout a timeline of when land remediation and rebuilds will begin in Seabreeze Close, Earthquake Commission head Lance Dixon said a plan is in its "final stages."

"After Christmas we'll have more clarity," Mr Dixon said.

"We're waiting on information from insurance companies that dictates where we have to work around house. [We are] working out priorities as we consult with residents," he said.

"We'll be in touch with those affected to discuss ground words early in the New Year."