Source: Radio New Zealand
The case involves cracks in the walls of the former Fitzroy Hotel at 75-77 Wakefield Street. RNZ / Marika Khabazi
Cracks appeared in a heritage building – formerly Fitzroy Hotel – 17 years ago, and there is evidence there had not been any maintenance of the cracks since then, a structural engineer tells the court.
A trial has continued in Auckland District Court, where Auckland Council alleges the owner of a heritage building failed to comply with a dangerous building notice.
The case involves cracks in the walls of the former Fitzroy Hotel at 75-77 Wakefield Street.
Built around 1855, the Category A heritage-listed building is considered the oldest brick building in the city.
Auckland Council issued the first of four dangerous building notices for the building in September 2022, and has put up hoardings on Wakefield and Lyndock Streets to protect the public.
The court action stems from a dangerous building notice issued on October 11, 2023.
The building’s owner Terry Huang was charged with failing to comply with that notice on March 18th, 2024
On Wednesday, the second day of the hearing, a structural engineer for Tonkin and Taylor, Oz Ben-Ezra told the court cracks appeared in the building 17 years ago, and there was evidence there had not been any maintenance of the cracks since then.
The court heard from a structural engineer who first inspected cracks in the building’s facade five and a half years ago. RNZ / Marika Khabazi
Ben-Ezra said his work at the site in 2025 included assessing possible causes of the cracking that had been raised in an earlier geotechnical report.
That included looking at all incidents reported to Watercare on Wakefield Street, he said.
Lawyer assisting the court, Sam Teppett, questioned Ben-Ezra on two specific incidents that happened at the north-west corner of the building in July 2016, relating to water leaking and the installation of a new water meter.
Ben-Ezra agreed that Watercare’s notes recorded that workers had cut into the footpath in front of the building and dug a trench down to the watermain.
Ben-Ezra said he did not know how deep the trench had been dug, but agreed if it was lower than the watermain, and not correctly back-filled, it could affect the footing of the building.
A principal specialist on Auckland Council’s investigations team, Gregory Thompson, told the court he assumed responsibility for the case in late 2024.
Thompson said he visited the site with Tonkin and Taylor engineers in February 2025, and facilitated an online meeting with the building’s owner, Terry Huang and Huang’s engineer, in June 2025 to discuss concerns about the status of the building, and the next steps regarding a propping plan for the building.
Thompson confirmed there had not been any compliance with the dangerous building notice.
He agreed with Teppett that the council did have an option to fix the building itself and place a charge on the property, but had not done that.
Thompson confirmed the building’s owner had told the council he didn’t have the funds to fix the building.
The former Fitzroy Hotel in Wakefield Street, Auckland from 1909. E Gilling, Auckland Weekly News
On Tuesday, the court heard from a structural engineer who first inspected cracks in the building’s facade five and a half years ago.
Now retired, structural engineer Geoff Radley told the court he first inspected the building in December 2020, as an employee of Tonkin and Taylor, after the council became concerned about cracks in its walls.
After that first inspection, Radley said he concluded that the building was moving and there was a possibility that subsidence was occurring, but he wasn’t concerned at that point that the building would collapse.
When he next inspected the building in September 2022, the cracks were bigger and he requested steel plates be bolted through the building’s wall to stop any further movement.
He said he was concerned about the buildng’s close proximity to footpaths on Lyndock and Wakefield Streets and the potential for pieces of masonry to fall from the building “potentially injuring people, or killing people”.
The first dangerous building notice was issued following that inspection.
The judge-alone hearing finished on Tuesday, and the parties have 21 days to file their written submissions. Judge Edwin Paul has reserved his decision.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
Original source: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/05/20/engineer-tells-judge-cracks-in-heritage-building-appeared-17yrs-ago-but-evidence-of-no-maintenance/