A historically significant Dunedin home is still on track to be taken down despite being shortlisted for inclusion in a heritage protection schedule.
At least two of the 146 additional heritage buildings proposed for inclusion in the Dunedin City Council’s heritage schedule have already been demolished, despite the owners being told of their inclusion while the buildings were still standing.
The list of buildings was made public today alongside other proposed changes to the city’s district plan (2GP), now open for public consultation.
The changes — referred to collectively as Plan Change 1 — also include amending acoustic insulation requirements for new inner city dwellings to reduce the risk of complaints about live music noise levels, and changes that would make it easier to establish new types of healthcare activities in the city.
The 104-year-old Edmund Anscombe-designed house, at 284 Stuart St, was one of the 146 heritage buildings included in the list.
A council spokesman said the consent holder had the right to exercise their consent for a period of five years from the date the resource consent was granted.
But if the consent expired, or a new resource consent application was submitted to replace the existing one, the proposed heritage protection would have legal effect, unless removed by a decision made by the plan change hearings panel, he said.
Elim Group applied to the council last year for consent to demolish the house and fell a protected lime tree to build a multi-storey apartment complex.
The proposed development was met with outrage from public submitters and heritage advocates, and the council approved the development in June after a new application was lodged that would retain the heritage-listed tree.
Also included on the list were the former Lodge St John, at 25 Gordon Rd, and the former P Hayman & Co warehouse, at 180 Rattray St — both of which had already been demolished.
The spokesman said these buildings were assessed for inclusion in the schedule and letters were sent to the building owners before their demolition.
Notification of Plan Change 1 was approved by the council on September 24 and substantive changes to the proposal, such as removing buildings that were later demolished, were not possible after that date.
Council advisory services team leader Mark Mawdsley said the 146 buildings proposed for inclusion had been identified because they were listed with Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga, had received grants from the council’s heritage fund or had been publicly nominated, among other factors.
Inclusion in the schedule meant there would be resource consent requirements for demolition to protected parts of the buildings, with other additions or alterations also requiring resource consents.
The council had contacted all owners of the proposed scheduled buildings and had met with about 19 people to discuss the proposal.
Council city development manager Dr Anna Johnston said the rules were designed to help heritage buildings be maintained and used, and was really only discouraging towards demolition or significantly damaging activities.
There would inevitably be arguments on both sides, and so the proposed plan had begun "in the middle" to allow for debate and for the hearings panel to make adjustments as they saw fit, she said.
Written submissions on Plan Change 1 are open until midnight, December 18.
