The Fitzroy Hotel in Wakefield St is boarded up behind a plywood fence.
The Fitzroy Hotel in Wakefield St is boarded up behind a plywood fence.
Auckland’s oldest surviving hotel teeters on the brink, trapped in a stalemate between its owner and the Auckland Council.
For two years, the Fitzroy Hotel in the city centre has been subject to a dangerous building notice and legal action as owner Terry Huang and the council dispute responsibility forits unstable foundations and structural cracks.
A plywood fence and road cones have been erected around the Fitzroy Hotel building, closing off some lanes on Wakefield St and Lyndock St, to safeguard the public.
Built in 1855, the Fitzroy Hotel is protected as a Category A building by the Auckland Council and as a Category 1 historic place by Heritage New Zealand.
Cracks showing on the facade of the Fitzroy Hotel in the central city.
Constructed by brickmaker William Parker, the hotel was later owned by Richard Secombe, whose brewery merged into what became Lion Breweries. In the 1960s, it housed Wakefield Press, publisher of writers such as James K. Baxter, Rex Fairburn and Maurice Shadbolt.
Last month, Huang wrote to Mayor Wayne Brown asking him to convene a meeting between the mayoral office, council officers, Watercare and Auckland Transport to find a sensible compromise.
He claimed to have evidence contradicting Watercare’s view that none of its works had affected the ground stability or structural integrity of the hotel building.
Watercare records show a long-term pattern of underground failure and erosion beneath public assets next to the heritage building, supporting engineering advice that sub-surface water is to blame for its structural issues, the letter said.
Huang said the council’s decision to continue legal action against him in the face of overwhelming evidence was a miscarriage of justice and a case of failing to address a significant public safety hazard.
Councillor Mike Lee says the roots of a nearby tree are compromising the heritage building.
Paul Cowling, the council’s licensing and compliance investigation team leader, said the council rejected the allegations made by Huang, noting he had not initiated any civil proceedings.
He said the matter of the dangerous building notice was currently before the courts, and the next hearing was scheduled for January.
This week, the Office of the Ombudsman rejected a complaint from Huang regarding Auckland Transport’s decision not to repair the footpath and road outside the hotel.
In his complaint, Huang argued that subsidence in the footpath and street outside the hotel had caused damage to the hotel building.
An image from the early 1900s of the Fitzroy Hotel in Wakefield St.
Senior investigator Melanie Browning said it would be inappropriate for the Ombudsman to investigate while court proceedings were ongoing.
“This is because the Ombudsman would not want to cross into matters of potential arguments relating to the proceedings, and that are solely for the court to decide,” she said.
Waitematā and Gulf councillor Mike Lee has backed Huang after meeting him and his engineer, arguing the heritage building is being compromised by the roots of a nearby tree and by underground water undermining the road, footpath and foundations.
“Dealing with this problem is the council and Watercare’s statutory responsibility to protect a Category A-listed heritage building,” Lee said.
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