Wellington City Council has announced the closure of an area of Council owned land at Shelly Bay from 6pm today (17 November) under the Council’s Public Places bylaw in order to manage the health and safety risks posed by the site. This includes unsafe levels of asbestos contamination in the buildings and soil on the Council’s land.

Council officers met with Mau Whenua representatives on 16 November which included an offer of an alternative location on public land at Shelly Bay, as a result of the closure.

The Council’s priority is to ensure people are protected from health and safety risks on public land at Shelly Bay. This includes being able to control and monitor access to certain public areas at Shelly Bay which may pose a risk to members of the public. We will also move to demolish the affected buildings as soon as possible

The latest asbestos report shows unsafe levels of asbestos in the soil surrounding Council’s buildings, which is likely to spread further as the buildings continue to deteriorate.

The Council closed these buildings in 2020. In recent months we have become aware that the buildings have been repeatedly accessed and interfered with. We have taken all practicable measures to ensure further access is prohibited including resecuring the buildings, putting up warning signs and reminding occupiers of the safety risks associated with the buildings. These efforts have been unsuccessful as there is evidence the buildings are still being accessed. The interference with the buildings has increased the risks associated with asbestos contamination and contributed to the Council’s decision to close the area.

The Council owned land in question is highlighted in the attached map. The Council’s closure of its land does not affect any of the privately owned land at Shelly Bay including the Chocolate Fish café and car park.

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