Collapsed canopy remains on street
A building canopy that collapsed in a South Taranaki town two weeks ago still remains in the spot it fell.
No one was injured when the Pa¯tea building’s canopy fell just before 10pm on January 23.
The canopy was still there on Friday, February 8, because it could not be removed from Egmont St until the business owner organised insurance.
In a written statement South Taranaki District Council building control manager Lindsey MacPhail said the council was alerted of the collapse as soon as it happened.
Council contractors installed a safety barrier to stop the public from getting close to the canopy.
This would be in place until it was removed or replaced.
‘‘The building owner has been working with their insurance agent to ensure the matter gets sorted,’’ MacPhail said.
The building is not derelict, but the old business ‘Time to Eat’ has not been operating from the site for some time, even though their store name still remained on the building.
MacPhail said the council had no reason to believe the canopy would collapse and the standard of building relied solely on the owner.
Ensuring the building was up to standard was the responsibility of the building owner, she said.
MacPhail said it was a timely reminder for building owners to monitor the structural integrity of canopies and ensure that buildings are safe for occupants and users to ensure no-one gets hurt.