Queensgate quake issues
Fifty businesses in Lower Hutt’s Queensgate Shopping Centre will this week be delivered the bad news that their workplace is earthquake-prone.
ANZ bank has already left the mall after seeing a new engineer’s report into its quake resilience.
The ASB branch announced yesterday it would leave the premises next week.
About 180 businesses in the mall are this week getting letters from its manager, Stride Property, informing them of the report’s findings.
Of those, 50 are getting the most worrying news that the buildings they are in have less than 34 per cent the seismic strength of what is required for a new building. Demolition of Queensgate’s cinema and part of the adjoining covered carpark began in 2016 after structural damage was found following the 7.8 magnitude Kaiko¯ura earthquake, which was felt strongly across the Wellington region in November that year.
The period since the Kaiko¯ura earthquake has been a tough time for Queensgate, with the centre being forced to close for repairs as well as partial demolition, which saw some retailers withdraw.
Philip Littlewood, from Stride Property, said yesterday that three of the 10 buildings that make up the mall were found to be below the threshhold of 34 per cent of new building standards, meaning they were considered quake prone.
The news was contained in a draft engineer’s report, received about a month ago, which was now going through the peer review process, he said.
Littlewood said shop owners were being told before the peer review had even been done because it had become clear what it was going to show and he wanted to front-foot the issue.
‘‘We are not hiding anything here.’’
The quake-prone areas are near the Angus Inn, adjoining a section of High St, and in the mall’s southeast corner.
Most businesses would be able to stay in the mall during strengthening work, which would hopefully be largely carried out off-site or at night.
Littlewood said the work will cost a ‘‘few million’’ dollars.