The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority has missed a deadline to have all red zoned homes on flat land demolished by the end of the year.
a house in the Red Zone Photo: RNZ / Diego Opatowski
The self-imposed timeframe to remove dwellings from earthquake damaged land that the government bought from homeowners, has now been pushed out to the end of June next year.
An authority spokesperson said 1000 houses, or 15 percent of all red zoned dwellings, still needed to be demolished.
The houses were being used by squatters and were a frequent target of arsonists.
Insurers and the Earthquake Commission were now working together to clear the dwellings in clusters instead of dealing to one property at a time, depending on who the insurer was.
Nearly four years after the earthquakes, demolitions were also continuing in the central city where 22 buildings have yet to come down.
Meanwhile, residents in the Waimakariri District north of Christchurch have told authorities what they'd like to see happen to red zoned land in areas such as Kaiapoi.
The Government bought the land and had yet to decide what to do with it.
Six hundred residents had provided ideas for what they would like to see including a BMX track, walking tracks and a community garden.
The Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority, the Waimakariri District Council, Environment Canterbury and Ngai Tahu would now consider them before presenting some firmed up proposals for further feedback next year.
There was, so far, no timetable for public engagement on what should happen to red zoned land in Christchurch itself.