The New South Wales building watchdog and the state’s planning minister have downplayed concerns over 900 apartments in Sydney’s north that were at risk of collapse after defects were discovered in the basements of the buildings.
The building commissioner, David Chandler, on Thursday said he was distressed that people who lived in the Macquarie Park building had been stressed by the news and he moved to assure the public there was “no risk to this building”.
“I’m going to be looking back into what we could have done that was different,” he said.
Chandler stressed that while the defects “may ultimately contribute to a problem”, the goal for his team was to get in front of the issue while it could still be fixed and to avoid greater problems.
On Monday, the commission ordered developer Greenland to urgently fix the damage in the basements which it said put the buildings at risk of collapsing.
The commission found there was “serious damage and spalling of the concrete slab at the joint locations in basements and the ground floor caused by defective workmanship” after inspections at the four apartment buildings at the Lachlan’s Line development last year.
“This is a defect in a building product or building element that causes or is likely to cause the basement slab to fail, namely, to fracture and collapse, leading to the destruction of the building or any part, or the threat of collapse of the building or any part,” the rectification order said.
The developer has been given 14 months to complete the work and has pledged to work with the commission to rectify the issues.
A spokesperson for Greenland said the building was not at risk of collapse.
Some residents told Guardian Australia they were concerned the impact of the media coverage and the order would see the value of their properties dip.
Resident Doris Wei said she was “depressed and scared” to read about the issues but was confident the building where she lives with her partner and baby would be quickly fixed. “I believe Greenland will fix it,” she said.
Chandler stood by the order on Thursday.
“I’m confident that the assurances I’ve been given that the defects that have been described in the order will be rectified,” he said. “You can count on it.”
Chandler said sometimes when issuing orders it was a “line-ball” decision.
“The reason you issue an order is to say that there’s a reason for us to be involved and for us to get a better outcome than is currently there but it’s certainly not saying that the building is in imminent risk,” he said.
The planning minister, Paul Scully, said he could understand if residents were concerned but he insisted the defects didn’t pose a risk to their safety.
“I’ve been advised that the defects ... are about the long-term durability of the basement only, not anything to do with the units themselves and that the defects are not structural,” he said.
“There’ll be more details coming. There’s a program of work that needs to be done over the coming months but you should not be fearful of your unit there.”
Scully said people should be confident buying off-the-plan apartments because the building commissioner was dealing with “legacy defects” which the watchdog would “make sure” didn’t happen again in the future.
