Building in Lower Hutt's Queensgate Mall to be demolished urgently

The Event Cinemas and Queensgate Shopping Centre in Lower Hutt, cordoned as a result of the November 14 earthquake. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The owners of Lower Hutt's Queensgate Mall have been ordered to urgently demolish an entire building in the complex including the cinema and 300 car parks.

The managers of the shopping centre received a warrant from the Hutt City Council to demolish the Event Cinema building and 300 car parks beneath it, but Stride Investment Management chief executive Peter Alexander said the nearby shops and dining area would remain unscathed.

"There's a decision been made that the right thing to do is demolish it," Alexander said.

"It's a complex set of issues. We've had a lot of experts looking at it as have council. The issue is really, in an environment with a lot of aftershocks, how do you safely strengthen the building?:

The section being demolished is located at the northeast corner of the centre.

A contractor has been appointed to carry out the work and is already on site.

Alexander said they had been given until Monday to put together "a methodology and programme" on how they would go about the demolition, but he was unsure how long the process would take.

There was "absolutely" an intention to rebuild, but it was to early to say when that would happen.

Alexander wanted to remind shoppers about half of the shopping centre is now open, with about 80 shops opening their doors, including Farmers.

"The shopping centre actually comprises 13 separate buildings. This is one of those 13," he said.

The demolition would not affect the other half of the mall being open.