Christchurch Hospital Building Progress

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31017, 24 March 1966, Page 7

Christchurch Hospital Building Progress

The North Canterbury Hospital Board’s planning group has decided that the floor of its new Christchurch Hospital extensions shall be 2ft 6in higher than the floor of the main corridor in the existing building.

Mr L. A. Bennett, the chairman of the works committee, said yesterday that this would mean a saving in excavations and would give under-floor access to plumbing services. The tender let for the pedestrian tunnel under Oxford terrace had lapsed, said Mr Bennett, and new tenders were being considered. The original contractor had done some pile-driving before the tender lapsed. Generally, progress on the boilerhouse building and the boiler installation had been

slow since the New Year. 1 The board’s consultants had < been instructed to take the i matter up with the contrac- ( tors. Mr Bennett said it looked as 1 though there would be a very ’ satisfactory outcome to the ’ dispute with the Health Department over the estimates for the new accident and emergency department. Revised estimates reduced the cost by £l2OO, and they were likely to be approved. “I hope we will get the all-clear from Wellington

later this week,” said Dr. L. C. L. Averill, the chairman of the board, “'but it will need a lot of battling by our supporters there. The estimates have been exhaustively investigated, and we hope they will meet with approval.”