Shoppers met with buckets and rags at the new $790m Westfield Newmarket mall

Tuesday, 15 October 2019

Million dollar mall suffering leaks just weeks after opening.

Newmarket Westfield is less than two months old but the building has sprung a leak.

Video taken Tuesday morning showed at least two dozen buckets, rags and puddles across level three with water appearing to come in through the roof.

There were also a number of 'wet floor' signs warning customers of the deluge.

None of the businesses on level three were closed as a result of the leaks, Westfield Newmarket said.

A spokeswoman for Scentre Group said that Westfield Newmarket experienced some minor leaks after heavy rains in Auckland.

They were immediately rectified, she said.

The $790 million mall opened its doors on August 29 after 18 months of construction.

Westfield Newmarket has sprung a leak in it's food court after heavy rain in Auckland.

* Australian streetwear brand General Pants Co set to hit Auckland and Christchurch

* Rooftop dining and airbridge open in stage two of Westfield Newmarket

* Auckland's new megamall opens its first stage to eager shoppers**

Water appeared to be coming in through the roof of the Westfield Newmarket mall.

Level three, which included Tank Juice, Mad Mex, Poke House and The Carvery, was scheduled to open this month.

Over the last 24 hours Auckland has experienced heavy rain.

The level three food court was just below the new roof top dining area, opened on October 10, which included a water feature and 'living' wall of plants.

Westfield Newmarket, owned by Scentre Group, opened to significant fanfare at the end of August with 40 stores including a Farmers department store, Coco Republic and Chemist Warehouse.

The second stage opened the air bridge across Mortimer Pass to 277 Broadway, which will eventually include David Jones, Countdown and Event Cinemas.

By Christmas, Westfield Newmarket will have 230 shopping, food, beauty and entertainment stores across its 88,150 sqm site.

During the mall's opening, Scentre Group regional manager Paul Gardner said Westfield Newmarket was about creating an experience for shoppers rather than just being a place to buy things.

The Australian-based company owns 41 Westfield malls in Australia and New Zealand.

MetService issued a strong wind warning and heavy rain watch for Auckland and Northland, starting on Monday through to Tuesday morning, with fears winds could get up to 120kph.

Between 6am and 8am, 12 mm of rain fell in Auckland, with a total of 26 mm in rain forecast for Tuesday.