Council does U-turn on proposed downgrades

Success for Devonport Heritage!

Council does U-turn on proposed downgrades

Devonport Heritage has succeeded in retaining the highest protection for several local buildings which Auckland Council wanted to downgrade.

The Mays Buildings and the Devonia buildings in Victoria Road will retain their place on the A schedule of Historic Heritage Places.

So too will Duder House at 11 Church Street and number 9 Mays Street as well as St Paul’s Church on Takarunga.

We made a strong submission about the importance of these buildings to an Independent Hearings Panel as part of Plan Change 82 and the Panel agreed with our evidence.

The Mays Buildings at 15 Victoria Road (where Bookmark is) were bult in 1882 for Oliver Mays, an important early settler who had a profound influence on Devonport’s development and also on wider Auckland.

They were designed by Edward Bartley and have an elegant and strong presence in the lower part of Victoria Road.

The Devonia Building, home to the RSA was built in 1926 to a design by prominent architect Sholto Smith. Its Art Deco style makes a strong contribution to the main street especially as the five shop frontages still retain their beautiful original features.

9 Mays Street is the grand and beautiful Edwardian home built for Selwyn Mays in 1907 and has exceptional verandah features.

11 Church Street, Duder House, was built in the 1860’s for Thomas Duder and is a rare and well-preserved example of the early Victorian Gothic style.

St Paul’s Church, Mt Victoria/Takarunga, is an outstanding Arts and Crafts style church designed by Grierson & Aimer the architects who designed the War Memorial Museum and is considered to be of exceptional high quality that merits the highest protection.

We were also able to convince the Panel to retain 126 Vauxhall Road on the B schedule despite the owner wanting it de-listed. The grand, 1904 Queen Anne style house with a turret, on the cliff near the Navy grounds, has been empty and unmaintained for some years but its original features still remain.

We are thrilled that through the great work of our heritage architect Jackie Gillies, we were able to convince the panel to reject Auckland’s Council’s downgrading of these places and keep them on the A list. In its detailed decision the Panel said they accepted the evidence put forward by Jackie and we are absolutely indebted to her for the work she did on the submission.

Several other Devonport buildings were always going to remain on the A schedule including -The Esplanade Hotel, the Victoria Theatre, Elizabeth House and Rockcliffe in King Edward Parade and Rotherham House in Rutland Road.

The commercial heritage buildings in Victoria Road and several others around Devonport are on the B schedule.

What is Happening with Plan Change 78 ?

Auckland Council is being forced to continue spending ratepayers money on this plan change despite the Government promising to let councils opt out of it.

This is because the new government has still not passed legislation to change the MDRS (Medium Density Residential Standards) which forced the discredited 3 by 3 housing intensification on Auckland.

In a letter to the Housing Minister, Auckland Council said it is costing $500,000 per month to continue the process on top of the $3 million it has already spent.

Council asked the minister and the Panel to pause the Plan Change until the legislation can be passed. That was in early February and still nothing has happened.

Groups like Devonport Heritage have also put huge time and resources into fighting the MDRS and are expected to carry on with submissions on this discredited plan change while we wait for the Government to act.

The council, the Independent Hearings Panel and the submitters are all in the ludicrous and uncertain situation where we have to continue with this process because the Government has not passed the legislation that will allow everyone to move on.

Last week Housing Minister Chris Bishop repeated yet again that councils will be allowed to opt out of the MDRS as long as they have earmarked 3 years of future housing (which Auckland already has done through the Unitary Plan).

What we are asking him is, when are you going to stop talking about it and act?