Demolition work has begun in Auckland’s New World Victoria Park supermarket to make the site safe for entry, after a fire ravaged the store last month.

Foodstuffs North Island says it is still too dangerous for people to enter the building. 

On-site, specialist crews, structural engineers and safety experts are managing a recovery process to stabilise the location and allow the removal of debris, stock and equipment. 

“Our first priority is making the building safe,” said Chris Quin, CEO of Foodstuffs North Island. 

“The damage is significant, and we can’t put anyone at risk by having people in the building before it’s safe.

“That said, our teams are working with real urgency behind the scenes to get on with the job.” 

Current key safety work includes removing unstable and heavy materials from the roof using cranes, securing compromised structural elements, and preparing the interior for safe inventory and equipment removal. 

Following this, specialist contractors will carry out a clean-up and restoration of the shopping centre in line with environmental, sustainability, and health standards. 

An environmental plan to ensure the safe and responsible management of food waste and damaged store equipment is in place. 

Foodstuffs North Island expects safe entry and internal demolition to be completed in approximately six weeks, following which engineers will determine which parts of the building will need to be demolished.

All roles at New World Victoria Park have been demolished since the fire; however, Foodstuffs will aim to find work for those who want to stay within the co-op across its 23 Auckland stores. 

The co-op has confirmed it is committed to rebuilding a supermarket in the Victoria Park site. 

To ensure there is a full-service grocery store in the area, Foodstuffs has brought forward the opening date of its New World Point Chevalier, 5km from Victoria Park, from September to August 19.