Neighbours back after units demolished

The council urges people not to try to view the demolition either from the road and especially down on the foreshore. Photo / Dean Purcell

Residents of a house in Bucklands Beach have been allowed to return home after being evacuated because of demolition work on neighbouring units.

Two cliff-top units on Clovelly Rd, owned by former Manukau Mayor Sir Barry Curtis, are being demolished after being deemed unsafe following severe land subsidence last year. They have been empty since.

The Manukau City Council used its emergency powers under the Building Act to order the demolition of the units to remove the threat of the building slipping further down the cliff toward the beach. There was further movement in the ground last month.

The work started on July 31 and is expected to be finished by the end of this month. One unit has been removed down to the floor slab, said acting group manager of environmental operations Brett O'Shaughnessy .

"Work is going according to plan and it's good news for the owners of 114 Clovelly who have moved back into their home," he said. "As a precaution they were asked to evacuate while demolition was taking place. Once the weight of the building of unit three was removed, the danger to their home from the demolition activity was significantly reduced, and they were allowed to return."

This week, the priority is the demolition of unit two and the detached balcony section of unit three, which is expected to take at least a week to remove.

Diversions are in place to ensure safe on-road parking, pedestrian safety and smooth movement of demolition trucks entering and exiting the site.

"Once again we remind people for their own safety to not stop or try to view the demolition either from the road and especially down on the foreshore," Mr O'Shaughnessy said.

The fate of the two other uninhabited homes remains uncertain.

Sir Barry is battling his insurance company, which is refusing to pay out because, it said, landslips were not covered by his policy. He plans to take his case to the High Court.

- NZPA