Roxburgh historic facade demolished

Nothing but a pile of rubble remains of the landmark facade of the Roxburgh Entertainment Centre after it was demolished yesterday.

After the Central Otago District Council engineer deemed it unsafe and at risk of collapse, a decision was made last week to take the facade down.

The clock and flagpole have been removed and put in storage. Contractors clearing the site have been salvaging everything they can, including bricks.

It was expected the demolition would take all week, a council spokesperson said.

A fire tore through the entertainment centre and town hall complex on Waitangi Day, leaving little behind.

While it was sad to see the original facade go, it did not make sense to use disproportionate amounts of funding to preserve it, Roxburgh Entertainment Centre and improvements committee chairman Curtis Crawford said.

Committee treasurer Norman Dally said the committee had been so inundated with offers of help and fundraising for a new cinema it had opened a bank account for donations.