The Battle to Save Heritage Areas Continues in 2023 (20th Mar)

Update on Plan Change 78 

Plan Change 78 is underway and our team has been busy preparing for and attending pre-hearing and expert conferences.

In early March Devonport Heritage appeared before the whole six-member Independent Hearings Panel (IHP) to summarize the case we will present at the full hearing. Our lawyer Warwick Goldsmith, planner Dave Serjeant and chairperson Margot McRae received a good hearing and answered questions. A link to our statement is here.

The government’s medium density residential standards (MDRS) legislation that has sparked the plan change is so unclear that the IHP is also holding a preliminary legal hearing on interpretation and scope issues so that lawyers and the panel members themselves can get an understanding and agreement on issues before they even start on the work itself.

Are Ferries a Rapid Transport Service?

One tissue raised was whether ferry terminals should be considered a Rapid Transit Service (RTS). Under the legislation an RTS only applies to trains and buses ie. rapid transport.

But a submitter has proposed that ferries should also be considered rapid transport.

This means the Panel now feels it must consider whether ferry travel is indeed rapid transit. This would have a profound impact on Devonport which would then be subject to the higher housing intensification that comes with being near an RTS. 

Margot McRae told the panel if this was to happen you could say goodbye to Devonport’s character.

It is also important that the legislation does not mention ferry transport and given the present problems with the Devonport ferries it can hardly be considered ‘a reliable and efficient’ form of transport’ as the Act suggests it must be.

Flooding Leads to Calls for Delay 

Devonport Heritage wrote to Auckland councillors after January’s disastrous floods, calling for Plan Change 78 to be paused to allow for serious investigation into how future flooding can be avoided. 

We argued that the MDRS will exacerbate the disastrous consequences of building in the wrong places by allowing 3 storey/3 dwelling intensification virtually everywhere in the city.

This month the council finally asked the IHP to delay its decisions on the plan change until it has completed investigations into stormwater and housing issues related to the flooding.

However, the IHP process will continue to grind on despite the enormous cost to the Council and submitters. And the Government continues to refuse calls to reconsider its unworkable legislation which has been shown to be completely unnecessary and harmful to Auckland. 

Seemingly, stopping the plan change will be like slowing the Titanic.

Topics

To make it more manageable, the plan change submissions have been divided into topics and these will be discussed by experts from April through to June. The ones that are of interest to us are - maunga viewshafts and height sensitive areas; special character business; special character residential; town centre provisions; policy principles and qualifying matters.

Our planner Dave Serjeant and heritage architect Graeme Burgess will put the case for Devonport on our behalf at these sessions.

Hearings

The actual hearings themselves will begin in June and go through to October and will follow the same topics. This means that we will have to appear at up to nine different hearings.

The dates for these are still being finalised and those of you who submitted will be contacted soon about appearing. 

We urge you to appear as it is essential the panel hears from homeowners who will be directly affected by the proposed changes.

Support

Thank you once again for your donations and messages of support. These are very welcome.

We have great confidence in our expert team and we know we have a strong argument to make – that Devonport is an exceptional place with significant historic and natural features and the whole area is fully deserving of protection under the Special Character Overlay.