A large slip in Birkenhead has taken out a car park. Video/Greg Bowker
Business owners are worried after more of the Rawene car park in Birkenhead collapsed down a bank because of a landslip on Sunday night.
The slip has been growing over the past month after construction crews started work on the area and is now about 50m wide.
Heavy rain in recent months has been blamed for causing part of the carpark to slip away, but Auckland Transport says there's no immediate danger to the public.
Birkenhead Brewing Company spokesman Steve Simms says it's a big issue.
"We've been watching it develop and every car park that disappears is an economic benefit that disappears with it.
"We wake up this morning and the whole thing's about to go. We were standing there this afternoon and we were hearing trees popping inside the forest, so the thing's on the move.
"The next thing we're going to see is that it's going to be a quite spectacular fall, when we see this thing go," Simms said.
Some of the debris at the bottom of the bank shows a lamp-post and parts of the car park. Photo / Supplied
Auckland Transport spokesman Mark Hannan says businesses and residents should not worry about the landslip.
"It's on fill, so we've cordoned off the area that's fill, it's really old, probably dates back to the Birkenhead council, 70s probably. So it's the fill that has given way.
"We've moved the fence back and we have security guards on and have closed a larger part of the car park," Hannan said.
A new crack had formed late this afternoon around 4pm. Photo / Supplied
Simms is disappointed with the "lack of leadership" from the council.
"They [the construction team] came across an underwater lake or something while they were driving the piles in around four weeks ago, that's when the cracks started to appear worse. It's just gone 'boom'.
"Our business association has been harping on for the council to take Birkenhead seriously and instead they've been diverted to other areas of Auckland that seem a little more interesting.
"It's starting to scare business away from coming to Birkenhead, and it's scaring customers away from Birkenhead," he said.
Auckland Transport experts are assessing the slip and it has restricted parking.
Auckland Transport said parking had been restricted at the carpark."Part of the carpark has slipped away after heavy rain in recent months."AT said it was "actively monitoring" the slip, and an engineering geologist had been on site. "Engineers are working to determine the stability of the fill that the car park has been built on.
"There is no immediate danger, but a large area of the car park has been cordoned off. Members of the public must not enter the cordoned off area."
