Tauranga's courthouse, which has been plagued with leaks ever since it was remodelled in 1995, is about to be re-roofed at a cost of just under $835,000.

Scaffolding is being installed prior to the top of the building disappearing under a white ‘leaky building' canopy for a couple of months.

The leaky courthouse is about to be re-roofed. Photos: Bruce Barnard.

Fraser Gibbs, general manager, property for the Ministry of Justice says the roof is prone to leaking, something court staff, lawyers and court reporters have been aware of since the re-build.

After heavy rain, it was not unusual for court fixtures to be moved to other court rooms as water was often pouring into a court room from flooded internal gutters.

From time to time, floods also occurred in the law library and the administration offices.

'The courthouse was built under four large protected London Plane trees on the District Court grounds, so as part of the repairs we'll be improving access to the roof to allow the internal gutters to be cleared of leaves and other debris more easily,” says Fraser.

'This will reduce the likelihood of blockages and subsequent damage to the roof.

'Because of its age, the roof is prone to leaking. Up until now we've dealt with this by making minor repairs as required.”

The work includes replacing the internal gutters and the five curved courtroom roofs as well as the main administration flat roof and canopy roofs which are at the end of their life.

The Ministry is also installing roof access systems so contractors can better access the roof for gutter clearing and maintenance.

They are also installing removable gutter guards to help with gutter cleaning and to better maintain the fallen leaves on the roof. The design of some of the internal gutters will also be tweaked.

The Ministry has contracted Naylor Love Construction Ltd to undertake the repairs to the roof.

'We're expecting to complete the maintenance by June at about the same time as other general maintenance work we're also doing on the Hamilton court buildings,” says Fraser.

The work will be carried out with as little disruption as possible. It is not expected to affect the work of High Court staff, and customers can continue to access court services as normal.

The Tauranga courthouse on Cameron Road was built in 1965 and was last extensively upgraded in 1995.