Hastings War Memorial Library. Photo: 123RF
The Hastings War Memorial Library has returned an earthquake-prone rating after a seismic assessment, but its doors will remain open.
A detailed seismic assessment was undertaken by consultancy firm WSP for Hastings District Council.
It returned a rating of 20 percent of the New Building Standard, for both the original portion of the building built in 1957 and the extension built in 1992.
A building with an earthquake rating of less than 34 percent NBS is considered earthquake-prone.
The council said the building's low seismic rating indicated uncertainty as to how the building would respond in significant but rare earthquakes. However, a risk assessment report found the building was not at risk of failure in smaller, more frequent earthquakes.
According to the seismic risk evaluation report by Kestrel Group, "Continued occupancy and use of the building is appropriate while plans for the building are being developed and implemented".
The library will remain open while appropriate plans are developed to bring its seismic rating above 34 percent NBS. As with other earthquake-prone buildings of this type, the council now had 15 years to undertake necessary remediation work.
Group manager of community wellbeing and services Rebekah Dinwoodie said the council had taken the advice of experts when considering the immediate future and public use of the library.
"The building is not considered to be at any imminent risk of failure in a moderate earthquake," she said. "The likelihood of an earthquake large enough to cause structural failure in any given year, or over a five to 10-year period, is considered low."
Dunwoodie said the report found "inadequacies in the connections between the roof trusses and the supporting concrete frame elements" in the older part of the library.
In the newer section, it found "some shortcomings with the connections between the mezzanine framing and the concrete block walls".
She said there were about 15 other buildings which were currently being assessed.
While the building was considered safe for the public to use, people could use alternative options available to access library services - the nearby Flaxmere and Havelock North libraries, or the eLibrary via the Hastings District Libraries website.
