‘Dangerous’ home do-up shut down
‘We were just going to tidy it up’ say owners as neighbours fear catastrophe
Extensive building and excavation work at a property in central Auckland has been shut down by authorities after it was found not to have consent. Owners of the home on Third Ave in Kingsland began work late last month, telling neighbours they were doing “a small renovation” — but after trucks arrived, and diggers began doing major earthworks, questions started to arise.
The property owners, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Herald they had decided to renovate the basement, but didn’t realise work was “going to be that huge”.
“We were just going to tidy it up,” they said.
Neighbours Paula Lockett and Brian Malone said when contractors started removing a lot of soil and putting in a concrete pad — they started to get concerned.
Lockett contacted Auckland Council on August 27, and then again on August 29 after not hearing anything.
“I rang the council because when they were removing the soil, the digging was making our house shake and rattling our windows. It was like
booming noises,” she said.
When the council failed to respond, John Holley, who lives nearby, contacted WorkSafe.
“I saw contractors come in, start knocking things over, concreting, putting in a new driveway and doing water works.
“The real concerns kicked in when they started doing the excavation — because literally at one point they had two diggers under the house.”
Holley said the council initially said they would respond in 5-10 working days, which he felt was insufficient.
“So last Monday I logged the job with WorkSafe and by 2pm they were there and putting the prohibition notice on the site — as it was obvious how dangerous it was.”
Lockett now feared for the safety of her own property, because the house sits above them.
Her partner Malone said they’d been told by their insurance company that they wouldn’t be covered if the neighbouring property was to cause damage to theirs. Instead, they would have to sue the owners for damages.
“I don’t blame the property owners, I blame the council more — because they could have stopped it in the first place,” he said.
The couple are working on lodging a formal complaint with the council, he said.
A WorkSafe spokesperson said it was notified of renovation work being carried out at the property on Third Ave earlier this month.
“After visiting the site, WorkSafe issued a Prohibition Notice which prohibited excavation work taking place at the site until the structural integrity of the building was secured. The notice remains in place.
“WorkSafe is working closely with Auckland Council and engineers to ensure the building is stabilised and the property is safe.” Auckland Council manager of regulatory compliance Steve Pearce said it had also received two complaints.
“We inspected the site on Monday and Tuesday [last week] and found building work under way without building and resource consent. We sought advice from structural engineers, who inspected the site and advised that it wasn’t safe,” he said.
Yesterday engineers from both Geotech and Fraser Thomas Ltd were working at the site.
“We just want to get it fixed, then we will seek consent and make sure we go through the right process,” the owners said.