Fire-ravaged Rosemont Hall: A breeze could knock the Prospect Rd facade over, engineers say

The heritage facade of the Prospect Rd hall could collapse in “normal wind speeds” and must be demolished, engineers say. The local council insists there’s paperwork to be done first.

Engineers are seeking emergency council approval to demolish the front wall of Rosemont Hall, which was last month ravaged by fire, fearing it could collapse even in “normal” winds.

But the heritage-listed facade on Prospect Rd may not be taken down for weeks as its removal is subject to public consultation.

Prospect Council said the earliest approval they could provide to remove it would be mid November, as a public consultation and a separate engineer’s assessment must be undertaken due to its heritage nature.

The fire at Rosemont Hall. Picture: SA Police

The application to demolish the facade was lodged by Imparta Engineers and Chubb Insurance Australia to the Prospect Council for the building that was home to two popular restaurants, Sunny’s Shop Asian Street Food and Mr Chan’s.

Fire crews rushed to the scene in the early hours of September 16 but the building could not be saved.

After the engineer assessment of the single storey double clay brick building, it was determined the fire had completely destroyed the building’s roof frame, and the front facade was unrestrained, and vulnerable to collapse.

Sunny’s Shop/ Rosemont Building was burnt in a fire. Picture: Keryn Stevens

“We are unable to quantify the potential force required to cause the wall’s collapse but advise

even normal wind speeds may be sufficient to cause an adverse event,” the application said.

“Consequently, the wall may be at imminent risk of collapse.

“In our opinion, the wall’s currently distorted condition makes stabilising it an undesirable solution … demolishing it as soon as possible is, in our view, the most appropriate make-safe solution. This should include demolition of the awning,” it said.

Director of community planning for Prospect Council, Nathan Cunningham, said the earliest approval to demolish the building would be the second week of November.

“As part of our assessment and under the new act, they have to demonstrate, or we have to be satisfied that the building or the heritage components of the building, are irredeemably beyond repair,” Mr Cunningham said.

Rosemont Hall site now has a demo notice on the front. Monday 18 October 2021 Pic Roy VanDerVegt

“Our staff are moving as quickly as they can, but there are elements of the planning system where essentially things are paused for a certain period of time.”

He said adequate safety measures are in place to ensure no members of the public would be harmed should the facade fall.

“It’s designed as a fall zone, so the theory is, if the wall was to fall all elements of the wall fall within he hoarding and fencing area, so there shouldn't be any risk to public safety or any passing traffic,” he said.

The building’s owner Aaron Ratanatray was contacted for comment.