On April 16, the Gasworks Museum was closed while its 25m-high brick chimney stack was assessed after structural changes were noticed during a routine visual inspection.
On Tuesday, the Dunedin City Council announced part of the chimney would be "deconstructed’’ as it posed an "imminent risk’’ to public safety.
Work was expect to begun next week.
Gasworks Museum Trust manager Glynn Babington said the trust was hopeful reconstruction might be possible after the emergency work was done.
"We are saddened ... but safety is paramount.
"The remaining part of the chimney will be accessed, maintenance will be done as required and, if required, strengthening options will be investigated.’’
Covered storage options, including council facilities, were being explored for the removed bricks, which would be catalogued for possible reconstruction.
The site is a category 1 historic place owned by the council, which assists the trust with maintenance and refurbishment.
Council property services group manager Anna Nilsen said costs for the emergency work, carried out by Naylor Love, were not yet available.
"The emergency provisions of the Resource Management Act allow for deconstruction in these circumstances.’’
Once work began, the council’s property services team, as landlord, had seven days to notify the council, the resource consent authority, work was under way, she said.
An application for resource consent also needed to be submitted by property services to the council, within 20 working days of work starting.
"We expect the application will be lodged in the coming weeks.’’
