Another firm leaves New Plymouth mall following seismic review

A third business has shut its doors at New Plymouth’s biggest shopping mall, Centre City, in the wake of the building being assessed at less than 20 per cent of the new-building standard.

Telecommunications company 2degrees has joined Centre City mall’s other phone providers, Vodafone and Spark, in closing its store, citing the rating.

‘‘The safety of you and our teamies [sic] is always our top priority, so we’ve made the decision to close our store until further notice in New Plymouth while we look into a seismic assessment report received by Centre City shopping centre,’’ it said online.

In a statement earlier this month, Centre City manager Steve Ellingford said a detailed seismic assessment (DSA) under the New Building Standard (NBS) found the building’s overall rating is less than 20 per cent NBS, and it was working to improve the rating.

‘‘In the meantime, the centre has a current Building Warrant of Fitness and complies with the requirements of the Building Act 2004,’’ Ellingford said in his statement. ‘‘The ongoing safety and security of our people, tenants and community remains a priority, and we remain committed to ensuring we meet their needs now and in the future.’’

In an emailed statement on Thursday, Ellingford said there was no further update as the review was still ongoing.

He said that while 2degrees had shut its doors in recent weeks, a new retailer had opened. Ellingford did not say what that retailer was.

On November 14, Vodafone shut its doors and a spokeswoman said it was for the same reason as 2degrees.

The same week a Spark representative said the company had temporarily closed the store while it assessed the ‘‘suitability of the premises’’. The statement did not tie the closure of the store with the seismic assessment, but Spark has closed stores in the past following seismic assessments that did not reach its own specific standards.

A large Spark banner in a shop window on New Plymouth’s Devon St East says it would be opening there soon.

A number of other businesses with stores inside Centre City have been approached for comment, but are yet to respond – including the Farmers department store.

While Farmers is the largest store inside Centre City, taking up much of the mall’s second and third shopping levels, its parent company, James Pascoe Ltd Group, also owns the Goldmark, Pascoes, Stevens and Whitcoulls retail brands, which have shops inside the mall.

Two sources who work at Centre City and spoke only on condition of anonymity said they understood that the James Pascoe retail group was carrying out its own seismic review.

This week, a New Plymouth District Council media spokesman said the council was yet to be given any information relating to the Centre City earthquake risk assessment.

The district council had previously said that when it was given information, if the findings were that it was earthquake prone, action would be taken.

This would involve a placard being placed on the building advising of its earthquake-prone status, and then the clock would start ticking regarding the time frame for remediation.

The premises would also be listed on a national register of earthquake-prone buildings.