Fire station cum movie theatre set to be bowled

Plans to turn a dilapidated, 59-year-old fire station on Auckland’s North Shore into an aged care facility have finally been approved - only to be met with criticism by some.

The proposed development had some Takapuna residents concerned about the extra pressure it would put on traffic and stormwater infrastructure.

But Devonport-Takapuna Local Board deputy chair George Wood said it would be a welcome addition to the community - providing more elderly care accommodation the area.

The brick-and-concrete building, formerly the Takapuna Fire Station, was built in 1959.

Overlooking Lake Pupuke on Killarney St, the station housed two fire trucks, with crews attending about 70,000 call-outs until moving out in 2013.

The building was not well maintained and suffered many leaks, said Takapuna senior station officer Mark Neville.

‘‘One of the fireman poles was particularly long, about 10 metres, and was responsible for many ankle injuries. One night a disoriented fireman fell down one of the pole shafts and broke his leg.

‘‘Over the years, reinforcing steel began to rust and expand resulting in pieces of the building falling off.’’

At one stage a large sinkhole opened up behind the building.

‘‘No one knows how deep it was or where it went but it swallowed a lot of gravel when an attempt was made to fill it.’’

Regardless of its quirks, and the dilapidated state it eventually fell into, the building was full of memories, Neville said.

‘‘The drill yard at the rear of the main building has been used for a lot of different purposes, including helicopter landings, motorhome parking, children’s Christmas parties and an Indian Bollywood movie set. The social hall upstairs was used as a movie theatre up until the late 80s.’’

‘‘The building was not well maintained’’

The old fire station will be levelled in early 2019 to make way for a five-storey, 96-unit retirement village with round-the-clock care.

Auckland Council granted resource consent last week, after developers McConnell Clearmont Limited purchased the site for a reported $14.3m in June 2015.

It was the company’s second consent application for the site.

The first, lodged with the council in May 2016, was for a larger facility with seven storeys and 101 units, but the proposal was scrapped in favour of the smaller development.

But despite the lesser impact on the surrounding area, resident Sandra Allen said pressure on infrastructure was already reaching capacity.

‘‘I don’t know how Killarney St is going to cope with the traffic. It’s going to be horrendous when it’s it all done.

‘‘The city can’t even cope with what we’ve got; we’ve got a drainage system that can’t cope, grey water spews out over Takapuna beach every time we get a bit of rain.’’

Wood, on the other hand, was pleased the consent was granted.

‘‘It will mean that elderly people who live in Takapuna and surrounding areas will be able to move into a care facility near where they have lived.’’

SIMON MAUDE/STUFF Takapuna senior station officer Mark Neville The Takapuna Fire Station building fell into disrepair in its later years, with large chunks of reinforcing steel falling off.