Civil Defence says plans to allow business owners back into one of the quake-damaged sections of central Christchurch on Monday have been put on hold.
But it says there will still be controlled access for some with premises in the Red Zone.
Zone 5, in the south of the CBD between St Asaph Street and Moorhouse Ave, was to have been opened to business people on Monday, and to the general public on Tuesday.
However Civil Defence says there will be a delay of a few days because work to make the area safe hasn't been completed.
It says this will also affect when cordons are lifted for zones 4, 6, 7 and 8.
Some businesses in the badly damaged Red Zone of the CBD will be given temporary access to their premises on Monday.
Those in New Regent Street - with a green or yellow sticker only - will be taken in by mini buses and have half a day to get their possessions out.
The group co-ordinating the visits, the Canterbury Business Recovery Group, says if the cordons remain in place for the next couple of weeks, the process of controlled visits could be repeated.
