Tauranga City Council to take legal action over Harington St Transport Hub

Harington St Transport Hub under construction in March. Photo / File

Tauranga City Council will take legal action over the Harington St Transport Hub.

In response to Bay of Plenty Times questions, council infrastructure general manager Nic Johansson said the council had decided to take civil court action.

"The council had made the decision to commence recovery litigation in relation to the Harington Street Transport Hub and will be initiating these proceedings shortly."

The council would not say which parties it was taking action against, saying this would be confirmed when the proceedings were lodged.

Johansson said the council had not made a decision yet about what to do with the half-built carparking structure or the land it sits on.

"All of the processes involved are complex and have to be worked through methodically. Having made the difficult decision not to proceed with the construction of the building, it's critical that the process from here is well-managed.

"We'll take the time we need to ensure that is the case and that the interests of the community are protected."

Johansson said the ongoing costs of the building were in the order of $95,000 a month.

"[These costs] will be reducing as a result of moves to manage the site more efficiently."

The council decided to abandon the project in June, having spent $19 million.

It had major structural and foundation issues and the council has previously estimated it would have cost another $36 million to finish the build, including strengthening the part that had already built, taking the total cost to $55m.

The original budget was $29m.

The council has estimated it would cost $7m to demolish the structure.

In June, requests for expert reports into the demise of the building were denied with the council citing commercial sensitivity and legal privilege.

Information about the remedial options and estimated costs would be released when it was possible to do so, Johansson said at the time.

The hub had been expected to have 250 parking spaces for cyclists, 53 for motorbikes, 535 car parks, 15 mobility parks, electric charge points for cars and e-bikes, and showers and lockers.