Building demolished for new offices

The property on the corner of Wicksteed St and Plymouth St. PHOTO/STUART MUNRO

A digger working on the property on Tuesday morning.PHOTO/STUART MUNRO

An accountancy practice will rebuild new offices in the style of the house they have just demolished.

The property on the corner of Wicksteed and Plymouth Streets in Whanganui was the premises of accountancy firm Moore Stephens Markhams.

Practice partner Nicola Gibbons said the house was removed because of earthquake risk and health and safety reasons. They had considered renovating for restrenghening but decided to rebuild on the site instead.

The building will be rebuilt in the style of the original property. It will not be two storied but will be higher than a usual single level building. Like its predecessor it will have a tiled roof, stucco outside and brick fence and trims on the windows.

The demolition of a building on the corner of Wicksteed and Plymouth streets in Whanganui has concerned a neighbour.

The neighbour said he had not been notified of the demolition and called the building one of the most outstanding in the area.

On Monday night he said many people had been stopping to look at the building after the barriers went round it and all seemed unaware it was to be pulled down. He was surprised he, as a neighbour, had not been notified.

Ms Gibbons said the firm had spoken to the wife of a resident who was unhappy, and explained the plans.

The firm didn't do a pamphlet drop to the neighbours, but it was a non-notifiable consent.

The new building should be completed by March 31.

Accountancy firm Richard Millward & Associates, which has been part of Moore Stephens Markhams for three years, will also move into the new building.

The property was built in the 1930s as a home, and has been the offices of Moore Stephens Markhams for 35 years.

"It wasn't really fit to be an office. It was a rabbit warren of a building. It was cold and damp - all the joys of an old house."

Moore Stephens Markhams has 24 employees in Whanganui.