Bendigo SES crews were called to a building on the corner of McCrae and Mundy St on Monday evening after a balcony partially collapsed.
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City of Greater Bendigo manager safe and healthy environments Caroline Grylls said that she believed that a vehicle had struck a veranda post on the building at approximately 7pm on Monday night.
“The council responded at the time to ensure that the community were safe and that it posed no immediate risk, we received an after hours call out to attend the site,” Mrs Grylls said.
“Staff attended and they arranged for the immediate area to be sectioned off to protect pedestrians and vehicles in the area.”
Mrs Grylls said that on Tuesday the council’s engineers and municipal building surveyor had undertaken a preliminary inspection of the site along with parking officers and traffic engineers to understand what needed to be done to ensure public safety.
“We’ve sectioned off the footpath to ensure there is no pedestrian access and we have provided barricades to ensure car parks in the immediate area can’t be used,” Mrs Grylls said.
The building is owned by Bendigo TAFE and the area below the balcony has been cordoned off with temporary fencing to prevent access.
“We are working with the TAFE to ensure its ongoing safety and have advised them to engage their own structural engineers to determine what works need to be done to make the site safe,” Mrs Grylls said.
Bendigo TAFE CEO Trevor Schwenke said the damaged building had not impacted classes and they hoped to have the repairs commenced as soon as possible.
“Bendigo TAFE would like to thank the Bendigo SES and City of Greater Bendigo for their prompt and professional response to last night's accident,” Mr Schwenke said.
On Tuesday morning the footpath underneath the balcony had been blocked and pedestrians diverted onto a temporary walkway.
Staff from the COGB have also relocated a bus stop that was near the veranda to ensure safety.