A dilapidated Wellington house worth $500,000, despite being on the verge of collapsing onto a public walkway, has been demolished.
The house in the suburb of Mount Cook was is in such a bad state of disrepair the city council was forced to temporarily close the walkway, fearing an earthquake or even strong winds could bring the building down.
The home was sold to its new owner in March, after it hit the market with a price tag of about $500,000.
The house before its demolition Photo: RNZ / Jacob McSweeny
Bulldozers took to the building this morning, and it took less than an hour for it to come down, leaving a pile of rubble behind.
The dairy owner next to the house said he was losing $1000 a week with the closure of the walkway. Photo: RNZ / Adriana Weber
The owner of the dairy next door, Anil Patel, said he was glad to see the "eyesore" gone.
He said he was frustrated by how the home forced the closure of the walkway, which many of his customers used.
"I've lost nearly $1000 a week since [the council closed the walkway]. People don't want to walk another way, they want to have it easy by using the walkway, and there's no footpath on the other side, so that's why I'm losing so much business.
"It's good it's gone."
The house in Mt Cook is demolished Photo: RNZ / Adriana Weber
