Razor wire-topped gates have now been erected by the Dunedin City Council at the former Princes St bus depot to prevent homeless people from sleeping at the now derelict site. Several tents were set up in the garages at the site, which has sat unused for several years after failed attempts to develop it.
The council said contamination of the site was ‘‘no secret’’.
Previous plans by social housing agency Kainga Ora to build an 80-100 unit development at the site were scuppered after it was discovered it sat on contaminated ground, the ODT first reported in 2024.
And the ODT can now reveal workers were previously told they were not allowed in a shed due to health and safety concerns because of asbestos, according to information provided to this newspaper.
Dunedin Tramways Union president Gary Bedford said he understood there was asbestos at the site, which had been ‘‘there for years’’.
Mr Bedford said he did not believe the DCC was ‘‘keen on doing anything with it [the site]’’.
And he reiterated his belief the site should have been kept as a bus depot.
Responding to queries from the ODT, a DCC spokesperson said the ‘‘contamination of the site is no secret, given its previous use as a bus depot, and it has long been a registered HAIL [Hazardous Activities and Industries List] site. The conditions there were also detailed in a ground contamination assessment made public in 2024. This was sent to the ODT by Kainga Ora at the time’’.
‘‘Nobody should be unlawfully occupying the site and, as we have said, we’re working with police and Catholic Social Services while endeavouring to resolve the matter,’’ the spokesperson said.
‘‘We have installed a new security gate on site, which will be used in future to control unlawful access once the current situation is resolved.
‘‘The people who were on site have now left, but we are working with support agencies and community groups to return their belongings to them.’’
Dunedin Night Shelter manager David Mackenzie previously said the use of the depot was ‘‘not a fix’’.
