A Historic Village building is to be demolished because it has asbestos, it leaks and it's too close to the stream and might fall in – according to the Tauranga City Council.

Demolition will begin next week, is expected to take about two weeks, says city council communications advisor Rachel Schicker.

Some exterior cladding of the building contains asbestos.

The former tenant Turning Point Trust workshop and storage building was closed in September last year after testing positive for asbestos fibres.

The building was constructed on-site as a workshop and storage for the village maintenance team in the 1980s from recycled material. It's not classified as historic and has no noteworthy features.

Part of the exterior cladding contains asbestos, and the building also has structural and weather-tightness issues.

The structural issues relate to the building's proximity to a nearby creek. The building is located only a metre at most from the two-metre drop to the creek, which means the erosion from the water flow is likely to undermine the foundations and cause them to fail.

Additionally, the internal mezzanine floor and staircase do not meet current building codes.

'The Village will remain open as usual during the asbestos removal works and building demolition. A full health and safety management plan will be in place during these works,” says Rachel.

The asbestos removal works follows a survey that found asbestos in a number of the village's old buildings, says Rachel. Most of it is low risk and non-friable, meaning the asbestos is currently in a stable condition, and doesn't pose a health risk unless disturbed.

'Five areas have been identified as medium risk, which means there has been some minor damage and the asbestos should be removed. Most of the medium-risk asbestos is in small parts of the buildings such as external baseboards and soffits. These areas will be removed by specialised contractors.”

The total works are expected to cost $75,000.