Blue Baths update
New fencing is going up around the Blue Baths to replace the temporary construction fencing that was erected when the building was closed for assessment due to structural concerns.
A subsequent seismic assessment found the building to be earthquake prone at just 15% of National Building Standards (NBS) and the decision was made to close it for public safety reasons.
The fencing now being erected around the Blue Baths will stay in place while it remains closed for public use, Council’s DCE Organisational Enablement, Thomas Collé says.
No decisions have yet been made about the building’s future but this is expected to be considered as part of the Long-term Plan process which will occur next year to set the work programme for the 2023-33 period.
“We do not make decisions to close council buildings lightly but liability for public safety in council buildings sits with the organisation and our responsibilities for public safety are always the main consideration,” Mr Collé says.
“That is balanced with expert information and advice, the probability of something like an earthquake happening and the potential consequences of that. The same level of considerations applies to potentially re-opening.
“With respect to the Blue Baths, given its extremely low NBS rating and poor ground conditions, and taking into consideration expert information, we deemed the risk to allow ongoing use of the building, in its current state, to be unacceptable,” he says.
A Detailed Seismic Assessment (DSA) was carried out on the building by experts in early 2021, giving the Blue Baths a rating of 15% of New Building Standards (NBS).
Buildings rated below 67% of NBS are considered to be an earthquake “risk” and those that are less than 34% NBS are considered earthquake “prone”.
A building, or part of a building, is earthquake prone if it will have its ultimate capacity exceeded in a moderate earthquake, and if it were to collapse, would do so in a way that is likely to cause injury or death to persons in or near the building or on any other property, or damage to any other property.
The main objective of the DSA is to determine a seismic rating for the building in terms of %NBS (Percentage of New Building Standard) which indicates the relative life safety risk when compared to that of a similar new building on the same site.
People inside earthquake prone buildings are exposed to more than 10 times the risk they would be in a similar new building and the risk exposure for people inside a building rated at less than 20% of NBS is deemed to be 25 times greater than in a similar new building.
For more information about the closure of the Blue Baths see June 2021 update
You can view the Detailed Seismic Assessment report HERE