Wgtn post office shuts shop over quake

9:47 pm on 15 December 2016

A New Zealand Post office and Kiwibank in Wellington are now permanently closed because of earthquake damage.

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A cordon in another part of the capital - near The Terrace - following the earthquakes (file photo). Photo: RNZ / Aaron Smale

The store in Marion Square had been closed since the 7.8 magnitude Kaikōura quake on 14 November.

New Zealand Post said it chose not to renew its lease in the building because of a seismic report and subsequent uncertainty as to when further assessments and repairs would be done.

All entry to the building has been stopped.

New Zealand Post's manager for retail distribution, Tracey Berry, said leaving the building was the right thing to do and customers should use alternative locations in the city.

Meanwhile, a construction team is working to reinforce concrete panelling at risk of falling off the ANZ on Tory St.

People inside the bank building - and a nearby bar and two apartments on Forresters Lane, just off Courtenay Place - were evacuated earlier today. The lane has been cordoned off.

The Wellington City Council said checks by engineers found bolts holding the panels to the outside of the building were broken.

It said contractors were fixing the problem and the building could be open in 48 hours.

More than 100 residents of the nearby Maison Cabriole apartments, which were evacuated over concerns about a parking building, were briefly allowed back today.

The residents were given 20 minutes to return home and retrieve belongings - and, in one case, a goldfish.