Doubt over theatre roof replacement
Lawyers for the company that owns the Court Theatre building say there is no written record of the firm being asked to replace its asbestos-contaminated roof.
Staff at the Christchurch theatre have been given X-rays and health checks for lung disease after a ‘‘high concentration’’ of white and the more dangerous brown asbestos, which had come from the Addington warehouse’s corrugated roof material, was found on a workshop floor in January.
However, no asbestos was found in the theatre space where the public watch shows, and air testing came back clear.
Chief executive Philip Aldridge told The Press the theatre company knew of the asbestos in the roof when it moved into the building in 2011 after the February earthquake, saying it was ‘‘a concern’’. And he said that when the theatre signed the lease ‘‘we asked the landlord to replace the roof’’.
But Michael Wolfe, lawyer for Marachi Ltd, which owns the building, said there was no written record of such a request from the time in official documents.
‘‘It certainly didn’t find its way into any written obligation between the parties.
‘‘There was an agreement to lease that was signed between the parties and there was a lease that followed. But there was no obligation that I’m aware of in the written documentation that requires Marachi to do that (replace the roof).’’
Wolfe – whose firm was not acting for Marachi when the deal was done – said both parties were represented by lawyers at the time of the agreement, and when the lease was prepared and signed. He also said he could not imagine an obligation to replace the roof not appearing in such documentation if it had been agreed.
It is not clear whether Court Theatre bosses made the request verbally or if any agreement was reached, and Aldridge could not be reached for comment.
But it is understood Marachi made a claim with its insurers for roof damage in the months immediately after the February earthquake, and that the building’s owners would have been unlikely to make any offer to replace the roof while such a claim was outstanding.
Marachi did agree to remove a partition wall that contained asbestos before the theatre company took up residence.
The firm received an insurance payout for the damaged roof in 2016.
Marachi – which has six directors, five of whom are based in Malaysia – has since offered to use the money to help replace the roof.
But that payment, significantly less than $1 million, is not enough to pay for such work because it only covers the roof in its original condition.