- A derelict property in Linwood, Christchurch, is for sale for buyer enquiry over $250,000.
- The Christchurch City Council issued a clean-up notice, requiring the owner to clear the site by March 31, 2025.
- The property, zoned for potential development, is expected to attract investors or developers.
An "eyesore" property in central Christchurch has hit the market for sale after the city council issued the owners with a clean-up notice.
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The home of the former Talon Arms gun repair shop at 387A Worcester Street, in Linwood, was damaged in the Canterbury earthquakes more than a decade ago, but in recent years, it has been the subject of local complaints.
The building is full of rubbish, tarnished with graffiti and reportedly infested with rats, while the narrow 506sqm site is overgrown with weeds.
The property does not meet council’s requirements of being a dangerous building that needs to be removed. Photo / Supplied
There have been several complaints about the graffiti-covered building, which has reportedly become a shelter for squatters. Photo / Supplied
The property made headlines last month after Stuff reported that neighbours wanted the derelict building gone. Mattresses scattered on the floor inside suggested squatters had been living there.
Tall Poppy listing agent Leana Butler is inviting buyer enquiry over $250,000 – above the property’s RV of $220,000.
Butler told OneRoof she had already been working on listing when the Stuff article thrust the building into the spotlight.
Christchurch City Council had hit the owners with a clean-up notice, which required them to remove the rubbish from the building and clear the vegetation by March 31, 2025. “They just want it [the rubbish] gone,” the agent told OneRoof.
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Butler said she understood that the owners had been given a reprieve after telling the council they were selling the property.
She has pitched the “as is, where is” property as an investment and development opportunity, highlighting its location in Local Centre Zone, which would potentially allow a new owner to bowl the building and build a residential or mixed-use dwelling.
“It has got so many potential uses. It’s so close to the [new Christchurch] stadium. The area has started to attract more buildings, more townhouses and more apartments.”
The vendors had run their gun repair business from the building for several years before the Christchurch earthquake struck in 2011 and left it unusable and a target for thieves.
The council has issued a clean-up notice for the property. Photo / Supplied
“After the earthquakes, people went in and stole anything of value, including a big firearm on the front of the building,” Butler said.
Most of the properties on Worcester Street were reduced to piles of rubble and have long since been cleared, and while the owners had considered reopening the building, they found the cost of doing so was too expensive.
“They have no interest in pursuing it any further,” Butler said.
Christchurch City Council told OneRoof it had received six complaints about the building since 2018, including one complaint about vermin.
Head of regulatory compliance Tracey Weston said the building had been assessed several times for demolition, but it had not met the threshold.
Weston said the Environmental Health team had been investigating a health nuisance on the site and the owners had been given a deadline for remedial action. The council had been satisfied that the owner had taken appropriate action in time by listing the property for sale and installing security fencing to preventunauthorised access.
"Should the situation worsen, or ifrequired, the council may consider further action, of which the current ownerhas been made aware of."
- 387A Worcester Street, in Linwood, Christchurch, is inviting buyer enquiry over $250,000
