A bomb squad from Christchurch was called after a suspicious item was discovered in central Nelson yesterday afternoon.
The Defence Force bomb squad travelled to the scene at Kerr St and found that the item posed no risk to the public.
Police lifted the cordon around the area late on Wednesday.
The item was reported to police about 1.15pm.
Kerr, Konini and Gloucester Sts were all initially closed by police as a precaution while the item was investigated.