Scaffolding put up on Invercargill building to protect pedestrians

Thursday, 4 July 2019

Nick McNaught, of Brazier Scaffolding, working on the scaffold around The Government Life building on the corner of Dee St and Esk St.

Scaffolding has been put up on the corner of the Government Life building in Invercargill to protect pedestrians from falling debris.

HWCP Ltd managing director Scott O'Donnell said the scaffolding would be placed around the veranda as a safety precaution.

It was well known that the building was not the safest and something needed to be done to provide protection to pedestrians, O'Donnell said.

* Life-and-death issues for Invercargill's Government Life building

* Engineer says building a serious safety risk, but tenant stays put**

The two current tenants, Night 'n Day and Pinch of Spice, have remained in the building but HWCP Ltd was working closely with them to find a suitable option for them to relocate.

Pinch of Spice owner Manish Singh said the scaffolding had disturbed business.

People had been avoiding the footpath completely and nobody had been entering the restaurant, he said.

It was not a decision for him to make if the scaffolding was a necessary safety requirement but it was bad for business, he said.

HWCP Ltd project manager Geoffery Cotton said that the scaffolding would be completed by Monday.

Safety concerns around the Government Life Building were raised during a resource consent hearing in March.

Batchelar McDougall Consulting structural engineer Graham McDougall, at the time, said the building had a new building standard of 10 to 20 per cent.

The perfect building standard was 100 per cent.