New Year’s Eve hotel bookings are threatening to push the already displaced residents of Sydney's cracked Opal Tower back into uncertainty.
Hundreds of residents were first evacuated after loud cracking noises heard by residents prompted calls to emergency services on Christmas Eve.
Residents from the Opal Tower will leave their temporary accommodation as hotels are booked out. Source: AAP
Thousands of people were evacuated from the surrounding areas amid fears the tower could collapse.
Most had been allowed back into the Sydney Olympic Park building when on Thursday they were told by the developers the entire tower would need to be emptied again so engineers' investigations could continue for at least 10 days.
On Saturday the developer said some of those residents would need to be moved from their temporary hotel accommodation over New Year’s Eve as their rooms had been previously booked out for the celebrations.
Meanwhile, other residents have refused to leave their homes, prompting the NSW government to request an urgent update on the investigation.
Construction workers in front of Opal Tower. Work is ongoing in some of the apartments. Source: AAP
The tower is now subject to an internal and governmental investigation.
Engineering firm WSP, one of the investigators being employed by Icon, said the building was structurally sound but residents needed to leave to allow engineers to assess and remediate the site in the quickest time possible.
The damaged section of the building on Level 10 has been reinforced as a precautionary measure, WSP said in a statement to residents on Thursday.
NSW MP Alex Greenwich has also called for a Special Commission of Inquiry into apartment building defects following the evacuation of Opal Tower apartment block.
Damaged inside the 'cracked' Opal Tower. Source: The Guardian
"NSW has a shameful history of developer influence over politicians with a legacy of laws that favour them over owners and occupiers," he said.
Mr Greenwich said the evacuation "is only one example of the many homes built with defects that owners are left to fix and it must become an overdue catalyst to strengthen our laws".
"These are people's homes and the public should be able to report their experiences to a Special Commission of Inquiry that fully investigates developers, certifiers, and problematic buildings and reports back to government on gaps in compliance and legislative protections."
