Doomed Hawke's Bay warehouse awaits demolition

Businesses on Caroline Rd can still be accessed while the doomed warehouse awaits demolition. Photo / Warren Buckland

It will take at least three weeks for a wonky warehouse in Hastings to be demolished once it gets the green light from insurers.

Fire and Emergency area commander Ken Cooper said a stakeholder meeting on Tuesday involved affected businesses based around the premises, along with the owner, insurers and the Hastings District Council.

"We asked them for two things. One was to ensure public safety, so we wanted a plan around the cordons, and the second was we wanted to get across the demolition plans.

"We've all agreed it is to be demolished and we're just waiting on the insurance company signing off."

Cooper said the teams were working on a safety plan for the building and hoped the operation would be completed by Christmas.

"A demolition plan is being worked through now between the company, the council and ourselves. The building is still at risk of collapse if we don't get started on it soon. We really want to shrink the cordon too."

Although road closure signs were in place, Cooper said traffic was still able to access businesses who were operating as usual down Caroline Rd.

"Businesses have been affected quite significantly by this incident, but they can still be accessed."

Parts of Caroline Road are closed after the coldstore warehouse roof collapse. Photo / Warren Buckland

A worker at the neighbouring Seeds and Cereals said business was quieter than usual since the warehouse's roof caved in about 11.30am on Monday.

A staff member at Grocom Landscape and Supplies said she was there to witness the collapse.

"It took a few minutes. We heard a sort of pinging noise before it fell in. It's just lucky no one was inside."

The now-doomed building, leased by Polarcold Stores Limited, was being used as a cool storage facility. Chief executive Steve Foote said the issue now lay in the hands of the owner.

According to a witness it took a few minutes for the warehouse roof to collapse. No one was inside. Photo / Warren Buckland

According to a report from Land Information New Zealand the building is owned by ST Industrial Investments Limited. Attempts were made to contact the owner, who has not yet commented on the incident.

A council spokesperson said representatives were continuing to work with the owner and engineers to further assess the situation.