Ashfield building near M4 tunnel evacuated after tiles pop, wall crack

Residents of another Sydney apartment building near the new M4 tunnel forced into a pre-dawn evacuation over fears it may have become unstable.

The building in Knocklayde Street in Ashfield is near the entrance of the new M4 tunnel. Picture: John Grainger

An apartment block near Sydney’s newly-built M4 WestConnex tunnel was evacuated in the early hours of Friday morning after a resident raised concerns over internal damage.

Emergency services were called to the Green Trees apartment complex on Knocklayde Street in Ashfield at 3:30am after new cracks were discovered and structural movement was detected.

All three floors of the 20-year-old building were evacuated and a thorough investigation was undertaken by Public works engineers and the Inner West Council. The source of the damage was not identified.

At least 10 residents from six units were taken to a nearby community centre.

The call that sparked the incident reported several main floor tiles in one unit that had popped up and cracked unexpectedly, minor cracking in a wall and some alignment problems with the doorway.

NSW Fire and Rescue Superintendant Adam Dewberry said emergency services were confident the building would not collapse

“Our advice from engineers is it’s very stable. There’s no concerns of the building moving,” Mr Dewberry said.

The Green Trees incident is the third instance of an apartment complex in Sydney being evacuated for damage in the space of two years.

On Christmas Eve 2018, Sydney Olympic Park’s one-year-old unit complex, Opal Tower, was evacuated after significant structural damage was found on several floors within the high-rise. Residents were only allowed to return midway through last year. Six-months later, Mascot Towers at Mascot, in South Sydney, was vacated after cracks appeared in the carpark and facade of the building, causing repair works which may exceed $50 million.