This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
THE City of Melbourne has extended an emergency order for the Neo 200 apartment building for up to 14 days because experts need more time to survey the complex following the cladding fire on Monday.
Residents of the 40-storey building at 182-200 Spencer St were told yesterday that the Municipal Building Surveyor has issued additional notices and orders extending the Emergency Order prohibiting access to the building.
Two additional Emergency Orders and a Show Cause Notice were issued by the Municipal Building Surveyor specifying that the building should be vacant for up to a further 14 days.
These notices and orders can only be cancelled by the Municipal Building Surveyor once the Essential Safety Measures are can be recommissioned and confirmed as operational, and the building is fit for occupation.
The council said under the best case scenario, residents will be able to return to the building by next week but this is dependent on a number of factors.
However, the council said it is likely that residents of the fire affected apartments may not be able to return to their property for a longer period as extensive rectification works are required.
Neo 2000 was one of the 2,000 plus buildings inspected by the Victorian Cladding Taskforce and declared “moderate risk”. Taskforce chair Ted Baillieu said around 360 buildings are deemed high risk.
Earlier this week engineering firm Roscon’s general manager Sahil Bhasin said the taskforce is not going far enough to ensure buildings safety standards.
“We’ve got too many buildings like this in the CBD where remedial action needs to be taken,” he said.
Premier Daniel Andrews earlier this week admitted that the removal of combustible cladding across the state has been a slow process.
“These are issues we take very seriously, we’ve implemented a range of reforms. We know there’s more to be done here, there’s no question about that,” the premier said.
Planning Minister Richard Wynne also defended the government’s decision not to release the list of buildings at risk. In March last year, Victoria was the first state in Australia to ban combustible cladding on buildings.
In November last year, after extensive consultation in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, the United Kingdom government made available a £400 million fund to remove and replace cladding on social sector high-rise buildings in England owned by social landlords.
Australian Property Journal
