St Enoch's Upgrade

Earthquake Strengthening

AND FUTURE-PROOFING ST ENOCH’S AS A SAFE AND ACCESSIBLE COMMUNITY BUILDING

Work completed - see the article in The News

In the mid 2010’s the call went out to assess the earthquake rating, in relation to the current building code, of public buildings. As a church, offering our buildings for community use, we knew we needed to be up to speed. The Health and Safety Act of 2015 made it clear that we in fact carry personal responsibility for ensuring our buildings are safe.

We found out what was needed to get St Enoch’s up to the required percentage of new building code for this area (an area of earthquake risk as the presentations by the Alpine Fault 8 group have shown us). The decision was made in August 2020 to go ahead with earthquake strengthening work, subject to sourcing funding for the purpose. The plan also includes, by our choice, bringing the building up to current code for fire safety and accessibility. At the same time we are carrying out a technology upgrade, with funds gratefully received from the Methodist District’s Wesleydale Trust.

Funds have been raised with grants from the Otago Community Trust, Central Lakes Trust, and the (Presbyterian) Synod of Otago and Southland. We are very grateful to these organisations for their support. There is still some money to be raised, but we have more than enough to get on with the job.

Why are we doing it? Put simply it is this:

• the health and safety of our congregation and of all who use our St Enoch’s building (including the lounge and kitchen)

• an important part of our purpose is to serve the community, to provide Community Space with a Spiritual Heart, space that is safe, state-of-the-art, and retaining the heritage of the heart of the Alexandra township.