PHOTO: SIMON O’CONNOR/STUFF Taranaki businessman John Rae thinks something needs to be done with the ‘eyesore’ former Ravensdown site – preferably a multi-sport centre.
Two years after a Waikato-based developer announced plans to create a multi-million dollar shopping complex on the outskirts of New Plymouth, the disused industrial site remains largely untouched.
New Plymouth businessman John Rae believes the former Ravensdown site, which is one of the first things visitors see as they enter the city, will sit in its current state for longer.
“I’ll put money on it, nothing will happen,” Rae said.
The site, on the corner of State Highway 3 and Smart Rd, is peppered with weeds growing around the former office and the grounds contain a large number of deteriorating buildings.
An asbestos survey conducted in June 2017 found about 1500 tonnes of asbestos in the walls, roof flat and corrugated cladding of buildings left on the site. Nearby soils were also found to contain asbestos.
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