The demolition of residential and commercial properties along Lower Hutt’s Pharazyn and Marsden streets wraps up in March.

Greater Wellington managed the removal of 120 residential and commercial units, sent 20,000 tonnes of concrete, metal and wood to local recyclers, delivered six truckloads of vegetation to Wellington Zoo, and made donations to local charities and community groups.

“One of our top priorities has been to build and maintain close connections with the people of Lower Hutt,” says Kim Longman, senior project manager.

“It has been really important to respect the removal of these former homes and work with the community.”

The buildings have been removed to enable construction for Te Wai Takamori o Te Awa Kairangi, which will see improved flood defences and river health, upgraded transport options and the revitalisation of Hutt City. 

The main goal has been to clear the site of anything artificial – contaminated materials, buildings, foundations, fences and buried services - while also looking for opportunities to benefit the community.

We have tried to offset carbon emissions through our planting and to minimise the amount of waste going to landfill. We’ve managed to  recycle over 80% of non-contaminated materials:

• Concrete made up most recycled material – 19,500 tonnes was crushed and sent to Centreport or used in local housing developments.
• 50 tonnes of native flooring, weatherboards, beams and decking went to local flooring manufacturers, and timber suppliers.
• Over 600 tonnes of metal was used by local recyclers.
• 11 buildings were relocated rather than demolished.
• Shade sails from the local childcare centre were given to a primary school in Upper Hutt.
• Six truckloads of vegetation were sent to Wellington Zoo as animal feed and mulch.

Smaller items, such as doors, windows, skirting boards, fence panels, letter boxes and household appliances were snapped up during a community salvage day back in October 2023.    That resulted in a further five tonnes’ worth of material being diverted from landfill.

As the buildings were gradually emptied, the New Zealand Police Armed Offenders Squad, Special Tactics Group and Fire and Emergency NZ were able to use the derelict buildings for training opportunities.

And the project proved fruitful for Greater Wellington’s biosecurity team who discovered several invasive pest plants including alligator weed at sites along the two streets.

We haven’t been able to repurpose contaminated materials such as lead paint or asbestos. Although there are some facilities across New Zealand that can recycle these sorts of materials, they’re not in the Wellington region so haulage costs and carbon impacts would make that unviable.