Company to demolish main street building

The earthmoving company that backed Waimate’s event centre is pulling down a derelict building in Waimate’s main street to make way for a new development.

Waimate District Council chief executive Stuart Duncan confirmed the council had been speaking with Gary Rooney, of Rooney Group Ltd, "over a period of time" about the demolition of the vacant, earthquake-prone, 99-year-old building at 84 Queen St.

But because the council had yet to receive a formal consent application he could not comment on the nature of the proposed new development. He said due to the council’s categorisation of the building as a category C heritage building, a three-month notification period was required to allow for the council to enter into negotiations about a possible demolition,  something it backed.

"In this case, council decided not to negotiate as the building is derelict and the construction of a new building will be in keeping with the aesthetics of Queen St." 

Mayor Craig Rowley said while the council and community "would love to see all of the historical buildings fully renovated and populated by thriving businesses"  the building would require considerable structural work and the layout of some historical buildings did not support "modern work environments ... or operational function of the owner’s proposed business".

"Council must consider the overall wellbeing and prosperity of the district, and when an owner of a building makes an application to invest in our town to demolish an old building and construct a new property to support business and grow the jobs base, we must weigh up the overall benefit."

Mr Rooney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.