Domain pavilion demolition gets underway

A fire-damaged pavilion at Kerikeri Domain will be demolished this month, allowing the Far North District Council and community to realise placemaking opportunities for the Domain.

The Council was forced to close the pavilion in June 2016 after a deliberately-lit fire left the structure unsafe to use.  The Council resolved in June 2019 to demolish the pavilion and grandstand which had become a barrier to improving the Domain.  It has contracted Whangarei-based firm NPM Remediation to undertake this work over an eight-week period.  NPM has already erected a temporary safety fence around the pavilion and half the nearby basketball court.  Other works include disconnecting electrical and water services, erecting scaffolding and removing asbestos materials and cladding, as well as salvageable items.  Mechanical demolition of the pavilion and grandstand is scheduled to begin on 16 March and will take four weeks to complete.  The area will then be grassed over and the work site will be disestablished in late April.  Public toilets near the pavilion on Cobham Road will remain in use, but will be closed for two weeks during the mechanical demolition period. 

General Manager – Infrastructure and Asset Management, Andy Finch, says NPM Remediation is a registered asbestos removal specialist and it will remove asbestos in accordance with the WorkSafe Code of Practice for the Management and Removal of Asbestos 2016 and the Health and Safety at Work (Asbestos) Regulations.  NPM Remediation will also do everything possible to minimise nuisances and inconvenience to Kerikeri Domain users and local businesses.  “We appreciate there will be strong community interest in this project and encourage people with issues or questions about the demolition operation to direct these to the Council.”