Stoush over rubble boils over

The brothel owners have blocked access to the site in Victoria St. Photo / Richard Robinson

Auckland Council wants the site of the collapsed Palace Hotel building cleared for safety reasons.

A lawyer for the Auckland Council says the rubble from the collapsed Palace Hotel in the central city needs to be cleared urgently in the interest of public safety.

Wellington businessman Michael Chow was turning the 124-year-old hotel on Victoria St West opposite the Sky tower into a brothel but cracks appeared in the building last month while renovations were taking place and it had to be demolished. Mr Chow has since served a trespass notice on the council and contractors in a bid to stop them removing the rubble.

Lawyer Wendy Brandon says the council is at a loss to understand why the Chow brothers appear so determined to prevent the council making the site safe.

She says the rubble poses risks to the adjacent building and to the Victoria and Federal St footpaths and underlying infrastructure. She says the council needs to ensure the integrity of neighbouring properties and infrastructure.

The hotel was previously known as the Aurora Hotel.

- NEWSTALK ZB