The co-owner of Christchurch City Council's new headquarters says damage to the building from the Canterbury earthquake is nowhere near as bad as claimed.
Wigram MP Jim Anderton, who is standing for the Christchurch mayoralty, told a public meeting on Tuesday night that the quake caused about $5 million worth of damage in the $116 million building.
Mr Anderton says his information comes from a reasonably reliable source.
But Ngai Tahu Property, which owns half of the new council building, denies that $5 million worth of damage has been done.
It says the building will cost no more than $2 million to $3 million to fix and the figure will probably be less than that.
Development manager Gordon Craig says the building is fully insured and repairs will cost the city nothing.
Mayor Bob Parker has said the only damage to the building was to bolts designed to fail in a quake.
Too much haste - Anderton
Mr Anderton also says decisions about the future of the city's architecture are being made with too much haste.
Ian Athfield has been appointed as an architectural ambassador who will lead a team rebuilding the quake-damaged city.
But Mr Anderton says more consultation is needed and the Mayor should not rush the process.
