CTV Building Hearing - Overview

As part of the inquiry into the failure of buildings in the Canterbury earthquakes, the Commission held an eight week public hearing about the CTV building collapse beginning 25 June 2012. Three days of closing submissions were heard beginning 5 September 2012.

The intention and purpose of the hearing was to ascertain why the CTV building collapsed, causing such a significant loss of life. This included:

• The initial building consent issued by the local government authority, Christchurch City Council;
• The construction of the building and its design;
• Identification of a structural weakness in 1990;
• Damage suffered in the September and Boxing Day (December) earthquakes and the evidence of staff in the building about the damage; and
• The assessment process undertaken, particularly after the September earthquake.

Timetable 

Date	Topic
Week 1
25 - 28 June	Building occupants, collapse eye witnesses, damage post-September witnesses, post-collapse witnesses, post-September earthquake assessments
Week 2
2-5 July	Post-earthquake assessments, Department of Building and Housing technical investigation
Week 3
9-12 July	Department of Building and Housing technical investigation,  Alan Reay Consultants Ltd collapse evidence
Week 4
16 July	Alan Reay Consultants Ltd collapse evidence (continued)
Week 5
23-26 July	Alan Reay Consultants Ltd collapse evidence (continued), expert technical panels
Week 6
30 July - 2 August	Building design, building permit
Week 7
6-9 August	Building design (continued), building permit (continued), code compliance and construction issues
Week 8
13-16 August	Building design (continued), code compliance (continued), concrete, 1990-1991: building retrofit and installation of drag bars and building fire
5-6 September	Closing submissions

Counsel Appearing

Counsel assisting the Commission

Parties Represented	Counsel	Organisation
Alan Reay Consultants	Hugh Rennie QC	barrister
	Willie Palmer	Buddle Findlay
	Kelly Paterson	Buddle Findlay
David Harding	Michael Kirkland	Saunders & Co
	Andrew Beachcroft	DAC Beachcroft
Geoff Banks	Helen Smith	Duncan Cotterill
	Kate Benson	Duncan Cotterill
Grant Wilkinson	John Bierre	Morgan Coakle
Holmes Consulting Group, John Hare	John Hannan	DLA Phillips Fox
Murray Mitchell	Daniel McLennan	barrister
Geoff Jones	Daniel McLennan	barrister
Alun Wilkie	Richard Raymond	barrister
Christchurch City Council	Duncan Laing	Simpson Grierson
	Nadine Daines	Christchurch City Council
	Kelvin Reid	barrister
CPG, David Coatsworth, Brian Kehoe	Tom Weston QC	barrister
		Hesketh Henry
Graeme Calvert	James Rapley	barrister
Russell Simson	Dale Lester	barrister
David Flewellen	Malcolm Wallace	barrister
Madras Equities	Hugh Matthews	White, Fox & Jones
	Jackie Frampton	White, Fox & Jones
Department of Building and Housing	Gregor Allan	Crown Law
Tony Scott	Andrew Marsh	Saunders Robinson Brown