The Christchurch City Council says it could take another four months to reach a decision on the fate of the earthquake-damaged Town Hall.

Council community services general manager Michael Aitken said yesterday that the council was still working through a process to confirm the best option for the building, and that could take some time.

A detailed structural assessment of the Town Hall a year ago showed the foundations of the building had been displaced through lateral spreading, with some parts of the building moving 150 millimetres towards the Avon River.

The assessment showed that the building was not level, with floors in some places up to 450mm out of alignment.

Holmes Consulting Group, which carried out that assessment on behalf of venue management company Vbase, said it was structually feasible to restore the building to its original condition, but it would be classed as a quake-prone building as it would fall well below current building standards.

The building has been closed since the February 2011 quake, and the council has previously said the building would not reopen before 2014.

The new Christchurch blueprint shows the planned Te Puna Ahurea Cultural Centre placed close to the Town Hall site.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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