NZ Herald: Nearly a third of Auckland’s historic villas and bungalows could be flattened for high-density housing
Spokesperson McRae
From The New Zealand Herald
12/03/2022
Written by Bernard Orsman.
Nearly a third of Auckland’s historic villas and bungalows could be flattened for high-density housing under a new law passed by Labour and National in a rare act of unity.
Leaked documents, obtained by the Weekend Herald, show Auckland Council has surveyed 21,000 homes in special character areas and found about 6500 could be stripped of heritage protection.
The list of areas earmarked for losing protection are contained in a council document, marked “confidential” and “work in progress”, presented at a workshop for local board members this month.
Council chief of strategy Megan Tyler said the initial assessments are still in the early stages and incomplete.
The initial work found Devonport, one of the city's most historic and popular suburbs, could lose significant pockets of Victorian homes and nearby Cheltenham beachfront is proposed to be rezoned for three-storey housing.
This has provoked an angry response from Devonport Heritage, with chairwoman Margot McRae calling the changes “absolutely shocking” and promising a flight to the end.
The North Shore suburbs of Birkenhead and Northcote Point and pockets of villas and bungalows and Remuera, Mission Bay and St Heliers are also in the firing line after being found by the survey to have “very little, if any” heritage qualities.
The potential loss of thousands of kauri homes that form part of Auckland’s identity stems from the passing of the Housing Enabling Bill, supported by the Auckland-based leaders of Labour and National, Jacinda Ardern and Christopher Luxon, and their MPs.
Under the bill passed, in December, people can build up to three homes of up to three storeys on most sites with few planning rules and no resource consent.
The two parties believe the law means as many as 105,500 extra houses will be built across the country within a decade.
Under the law and separate government plans to allow for apartments of at least six storeys close to big town centres and along transport corridors, the council has discretion to consider “qualifying matters” for exemption, such as heritage and where there is a risk of natural hazards.
The council survey and the Special Character Areas (SCA) has assessed whether each property has high, medium or low qualities.
Only high-quality houses will retain special character status.
Medium and low-quality houses will be rezoned. Each house is being tested against six criteria – scale, relationship to street, period of development, typology, architectural style, and level of physical integrity.
Houses have to pass five of the six criteria to retain a special character status.
For practical purposes, boundaries are being set in areas where most houses have high-heritage qualities.
McRae said Devonport Heritage thought the suburb with a majority of streets dominated by old houses and a historic waterfront would be safe. The same went for Cheltenham.
She said the law allowing for three-storey blocks with no design or resource consent requirements was frightening and could see buildings painted bright yellow with stripes on the Devonport waterfront and Queens Parade.
“People will say they're not going to do anything ugly, but it's taste isn't it, and someone will do something ugly.” McRae was damning of National’s part in supporting the new law.
She was also angry with the council for letting down historic suburbs after mayor Phil Goff and planning committee chairman Chris Darby opposed the new law.
In October, Goff backed the Government's objective of building more houses more quickly but pointed out new building consents are running at record numbers and Aucklanders want to keep the best of the city’s heritage and character.
“The council should have done better than this,” McRae said. We were expecting them to be more proactive…”
Tyler defended the council approach, saying the government had come in strongly with how it wants Auckland to grow by requiring greater housing density around urban centres urban centres and rapid transport stops and passed the housing bill.
Like the Unitary Plan, she said, the council would put out some proposals for public feedback next month before publicly notifying changes to the Unitary Plan for public submissions in August.
“By law, we must implement these changes. We can't simply ‘roll over’ existing special character protections for an area. The Government allows for some exemptions to modify mandated building heights but it's a very high threshold that must be justified by robust evidence.”
The council, she said, proposed an exemption to the new law for areas of high-quality character leading to a review of the existing SCA and an initial assessment of where it should be retained.
“We have a long way to go. Aucklanders will have their say to help us understand we are on the right track with the limited decisions we can make during public consultation in mid-April.
“As required by the Government, an independent hearings panel will then consider all submissions and make recommendations [for the Unitary Plan].
Are you concerned?
Learn what you can do to protect Devonport here.
Learn more about Cheltenham Beach
From TripAdvisor - Hear what the international/domestic tourists to have Devonport say
Rating 4.5 out of 5
”Lovely sandy quiet spot yet just minutes from central auckland. Took ferry from Auckland to devonport just for a general look see afternoon. Visited the navy museum which was interesting and served good tea,cake. Decided to walk across to Cheltenham beach and so glad we did , quiet, very sandy, clean shallow and really warm water with a great view. Had a lovely hour paddling and sitting in thesun and shade, then climbed to the top of the hill and had just perfect views of Auckland,well worth a visit”
“This beach is on the North Shore and I think only accessible by car but it is a beautiful spot and is definitely worth the effort to get to. The beach is gently shelving with lovely soft sand. The local area is worth exploring on food with some lovely houses to look at.”
“From the beach you can see some magnificent houses.“
“Among Auckland’s plethora of beaches is Cheltenham, which has stunning views of Rangitoto and Waiheke in the background. The water is usually pretty calm and very warm in summer and it’s never too crowded, at least not when I’ve been. Definitely one to recommend.“
From Explore North Shore
“One of the best kept secrets of the North Shore is Cheltenham Beach offering a stunning strip of white sand that sits right below North Head/Maungauika.”
From AucklandNZ (official website of Auckland Unlimited: Auckland Council’s economic and cultural agency.)
“when it comes to beaches, gorgeous Cheltenham Beach is a winner. Slip off your shoes and take a stroll or a dip – the sheltered waters are perfect for families.“
And from newzealand.com
(The Tourism New Zealand website newzealand.com is the official tourism website for New Zealand!!!)
“Just across Auckland harbour from the central business district, the historic suburb of Devonport is full of charm and character. Decades of relative isolation by road, followed by visionary town planning, has preserved Devonport's heritage. The streets are lined with wooden colonial villas built in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
A track around the base of North Head passes along a rocky ledge to a small secluded beach before heading down onto Cheltenham Beach, one of the North Shore's prettiest seaside suburbs.”
Keep Devonport
Read the full article in the NZ Herald, 12th March 2022, (pay walled)
Auckland's heritage villas, bungalows could be demolished for high-density housing