Works begin on removing Rotorua Soundshell building

Rotorua's Soundshell building, which will be removed to make way for a community space. Photo / file

Transformation of Rotorua's iconic Soundshell site has begun.

Contractors have today taken over the lakefront site, to turn it into a community space and additional boat parking.

The site will be turned into a community space and additional boat parking as part of the lakefront's development. At the heart of this will be a wharewaka building to house the ceremonial Te Arawa waka.

Parts of the building will start to be removed by next weekend.

The Soundshell has been flagged for removal for several years. The building was closed to the public in 2015 and a number of issues including its structural integrity, general state of disrepair and the discovery of significant amounts of asbestos have meant retaining the building was not feasible.

During the next few weeks, AP Demolition will prepare the site by disconnecting services, surveying and erecting safety fences.

Rotorua Lakes Council said in a statement today: "The main building is will remain standing for a number of weeks until all the asbestos can be removed.

"Specialist asbestos removalists will carry out the process which includes continuous electronic monitoring to check asbestos levels in the air. An independent asbestos auditing company will also be on board to ensure any risk to public or worker safety is correctly managed."

The entire removal is expected to take 10 weeks as part of the Lakefront Development project.