Tauranga Spark store forced to close over earthquake risk

Devonport Road in Tauranga's CBD. Photo/file

A store in Tauranga's CBD has temporarily closed its doors from today after concerns about earthquake safety.

The Devonport Rd Spark store is expected to be closed for weeks.

A statement released by the telecommunications company said it was in the process of a nationwide audit and found the store did not satisfy Spark's policy standard for earthquake resiliency.

The store has been temporarily closed "for the safety of our staff and customers".

"Our policy standard is more stringent than government building requirements, so we are making this closure by choice rather than by necessity," the statement read.

"We apologise for any inconvenience that customers experience from the store closure but we're sure our customers will appreciate that the safety of our staff and customers is paramount.

"We know that customers value being able to come into store and receive great service from the local team, so we're investigating if we can open temporary premises in a safe alternative location as soon as possible, preferably in the next few weeks."

Spark customers can also choose to contact the company by chat, on the phone, via its social channels, or by visiting another store (Tauranga has two other stores in Bayfair and Papamoa). More details are available here: https://www.spark.co.nz/contactus.

"The Tauranga store is a valued part of the Spark retail network and we remain absolutely committed to having a Spark presence in town, either by returning to the existing site once remedial work has been completed or by opening at a new location. In the meantime, staff are being relocated where possible or being assigned work that can be completed remotely."

The statement said Spark would prefer not to have to close so close to Christmas "but we hope that this announcement demonstrates our commitment to putting the safety of our staff and customers first".