More quake homes safe to rebuild

Birch Street in Bexley is one area of Christchurch that has been badly affected by the ongoing earthquakes that have hit the city. Photo / NZPA

Nearly 6500 orange zoned Christchurch homes are now safe to rebuild, Government has announced.

Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Minister Gerry Brownlee said owners of the 6430 earthquake-hit properties could rebuild their homes "as is" or with remediation on their land.

However, the owners 1666 remaining "orange zone" properties are still in limbo about the future of their homes.

"I appreciate the incredible frustration these homeowners will be experiencing and I would like to assure them we are working hard to get some certainty for them," Mr Brownlee said.

"I ask that they hang on for a while longer as we still need to do further investigation and evaluate all the options available with their best interests in mind."

Mr Brownee said it may make sense for some of the owners of new green zoned properties to work together to repair their land.

"In some areas, small area-wide or coordinated land repair works may be more cost effective and it would make sense for property owners to work together."

The number of green zoned properties in Canterbury has now risen to more than 180,000.

- Herald Online staff