Victoria Road Heritage Buildings Deserve an A!
Spokesperson McRae
Devonport Heritage will fight to retain the Category A value of Victoria Road’s heritage buildings. The buildings date from the 1880s through to the 1930’s and together make up the unique and historic fabric of Devonport’s main road.
Auckland Council downgrade
Auckland Council has proposed downgrading these buildings to the category B schedule, along with many other heritage buildings in Devonport.
This is part of a reassessment process the council has been conducting into the heritage value of the city’s historic buildings.
For decades the various district councils in Auckland had developed individual lists of the houses, buildings and places that they considered of high heritage value and worthy of protection.
When the Unitary Plan came into being, the council wanted a uniform approach to these historic schedules and decided to reassess 186 of them to decide if they warranted being a Category A place. It gave them an A* while it made the reassessments.
Higher Threshold
The Unitary Plan also raised the threshold of what qualified as being a Category A building – the place had to be of ‘outstanding significance well beyond their immediate environs’.
Category B places are of ‘considerable significance to a locality or beyond’.
Only 9 Devonport Buildings make the A List
The council has worked through Devonport A* buildings and is proposing that only 9 make the grade as Category A places. Previously there were 43.
What Devonport Heritage is Doing
Since 2020 Devonport Heritage has had input into the council’s work on the reassessments. We lobbied for the Esplanade Hotel, Elizabeth House, the Victoria Theatre and several churches and heritage houses to be Category A buildings.
We support some of the proposed changes such as the whole of Windsor reserve being an Historic Heritage place rather than having four individual listings.
However we have always opposed the downgrading of Devonport’s main street commercial heritage buildings to the B category.
Collective Impact
The council has treated these heritage buildings individually when in fact they should be considered collectively.
These old shop buildings illustrate Devonport’s history and together they form Victoria Road’s distinct historic character. While some have been there for 140 years their continuation can never be taken for granted.
The western side of Victoria Road is one of the most intact Victoria/Edwardian streetscapes in New Zealand and does meet the criteria of having - ‘outstanding significance well beyond its immediate environs’.
Victoria Road should be an Historic Heritage area
Devonport Heritage will be endeavouring to have the buildings retain their A status and have Victoria Road named an Historic Heritage Area which will recognise its heritage status and also help protect it from unsympathetic changes.
Several other heritage areas in Auckland enjoy this status, for example the Upland Road shops in Remuera, the commercial centre of Onehunga and the Point Chevalier shops.
We believe Victoria Road is certainly equal in heritage value to these areas and should be afforded the extra protection of the Historic Heritage Area classification.
Submissions to the Plan Change
The council will present its plan change to approve the proposed changes to the historic schedule in late October and that is the time that individuals and groups can submit.
Devonport Heritage is already working on its submission and when it is complete we will make it available to the public so they can make their own submissions.
We urge everyone who values Devonport’s heritage identity to make a submission when the time comes.
What You Can Do
Check back with us on 30 October when Auckland Council will open submissions to the proposed changes. This is the time everyone who supports protecting our heritage can make a submission.
Devonport Heritage will give you tips on how to fill out the submission form.
Finally, are you on our mailing list? If not sign up today (free) and we’ll keep you informed.
Why heritage listing is such an important issue.
Ref. The Masonic Tavern.
“Council records indicate that the corner tavern and 1883 extension along Church St, which were meant to be retained and restored, were demolished entirely (except, possibly for the front entrance, though this is unclear),” Auckland Council’s senior specialist in historic heritage, in a review completed in October 2020.
The facade of Devonport’s Masonic Hotel, which opened in 1866, had an A-listing in the North Shore City Council’s heritage schedule. An A-listing indicates that a building should be afforded the highest level of protection.
In 2011, under the new Auckland Council, the Masonic Hotel was largely demolished in favour of a modern townhouse development. The owners original application had suggested that the building would be restored, as opposed to demolished.
The Auckland Council now says the Masonic Hotel should be stripped of its heritage status in the Auckland Unitary Plan – with the reconstructed building regarded as a replica of no historic value. The building has “limited historic heritage significance” beyond its association with the original hotel building..
The development – while attempting to mimic how the hotel may have looked from the front in 1900 – actually destroyed heritage.
Conclusion: these heritage buildings are deserving of robust protective measures!
Source: “The Masonic: consigned to the dustbin of history”, The Devonport Flagstaff, 22-September-2021