Toomath’s Building demolition a reward for negligence, heritage advocate says

Friday, 20 October 2023

The owner of Toomath’s is being ordered to demolish the building after a fire last weekend.

The Toomath’s Building will be demolished following a fire over the weekend, dismaying the local heritage community.

The fire broke out in the Toomath’s Building on Ghuznee St on Sunday afternoon, blanketing the area in thick smoke and closing the street. The council issued a demolition notice on Thursday.

Chairperson of Historic Places Wellington, Felicity Wong, said that with the demolition order the owner had “won against the city and will be rewarded for their negligence”.

The heritage-listed building required earthquake strengthening, and has been a long-term headache for the council with the owners refusing to strengthen it.

Toomath’s was considered so unsafe that the council installed a shipping container as cover for people to walk past its unreinforced walls.

Following the fire, council engineers and the building owner’s engineers agreed that demolition of the building was necessary, despite its heritage listing.

A number of fire crews battled a blaze at Toomath’s building, Ghuznee St, Wellington.

Wong said partial demolition to keep the building in line with the streetscape of the Cuba St Heritage Precinct would be preferable.

But the council’s dangerous building notice required the owners to start demolition work as soon as practicable.

“Council officers are working closely with the owners of the building and their engineer to resolve the situation with minimal impact on the surrounding businesses and residents, but safety of the public is the top priority,” the council said in a statement.

The owners were in the process of negotiations to secure a contractor to do the work. Meanwhile, council environmental health officers confirmed there was no evidence of asbestos risk in the area.

Council’s chief planning officer Liam Hodgetts said while the situation might be frustrating for local residents, pedestrians and commuters, public safety was the priority.

“We advised the owners of the building of the absolute urgency in getting the work completed to address safety concerns and the need to reopen the road, and they are complying with our requests,” Hodgetts said.

Thick smoke blanketed the area on Sunday afternoon. The site is facing demolition due to the safety risk the fire posed.

“We will support them in their endeavours to achieve this and the next steps.”

Police were continuing to investigate the cause of the fire and reports that four children had jumped the fence before the fire.

A cordon would remain in place between Marion St and Cuba St, preventing access to south bound traffic down Ghuznee St. People were being asked to avoid the area.

Metlink closed three bus stops along Ghuznee St, and buses were being diverted.

Council staff were supporting local residents and businesses which might be affected, it said. Business and residential rubbish and recycling were being collected from outside the cordon at normal collection times.