Work Under Way To Make Victoria Park Building Safe For Entry

Work is under way to make the fire-damaged New World Victoria Park site safe for entry, with Foodstuffs North Island confirming today that the building remains too dangerous for anyone to go inside at this stage.

Specialist crews, structural engineers and safety experts are on-site managing a staged recovery process to stabilise the structure and allow removal of fire debris, equipment and stock to take place.

“Our first priority is making the building safe,” said Chris Quin, CEO of Foodstuffs North Island. “The damage is significant, and we can’t put anyone at risk by having people in the building before its safe. That said, our teams are working with real urgency behind the scenes to get on with the job.”

Key safety work includes using cranes to remove from the roof substantial and heavy materials that are unstable, securing any compromised structural elements, and preparing the interior for the safe removal of stock and equipment. Once that’s complete, specialist contractors will carry out a full clean-up and restoration of the site in line with environmental, sustainability and health standards.

A robust environmental plan is in place to ensure food waste and damaged store equipment are managed safely and responsibly.

While the timing remains dependent on site and changing weather conditions, the co-operative expects safe entry and internal demolition to be completed within the next six weeks. When it is safe to do so, structural engineers will assess what parts of the building can remain and what will need to be demolished.

Foodstuffs has confirmed it is committed to rebuilding a supermarket on the Victoria Park site.

Foodstuffs has brought forward the opening date for its New World Point Chevalier, 5 km from Victoria Park to ensure there is a full-service grocery store in the area as quickly as possible. New World Point Chevalier was originally scheduled to open on 09 September but will now open on Tuesday, 19 August.

From a team members perspective, with the fire-damaged New World Victoria Park store remaining closed, all roles have been disestablished. Foodstuffs is optimistic about finding opportunities for everyone who wants to stay with the co-op, with 23 Auckland stores offering over 100 part-time and full-time vacancies across various departments.

Foodstuffs and the store will continue working one-on-one with impacted team members over the coming weeks to support their next steps.

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