Group of historic Princes St buildings to be demolished

A 15-year battle to save a group of derelict central Dunedin buildings has ended with the council accepting most are too dangerous to save and can be demolished.

The Dunedin City Council today granted consent for the demolition of buildings at 380, 382 and 386 Princes St and 11 Stafford St, as well as the protected heritage facades of 380, 386 and 392 Princes St.

However, the buildings’ latest owner – who purchased them in March 2021 – will now retain the building and its protected façade at 372-378 Princes St, which is in better condition.

Council advisory services team leader Mark Mawdsley said the outcome was a loss for heritage in the city, but the buildings were already collapsing and now too dangerous to save.

"We’ve put a lot of time and effort into trying to find ways to save these buildings’ historic facades. In the end, it’s simply not possible to have contractors working on site, protecting the facades while bringing down the buildings, as we had hoped.

"Sadly, the rate of collapse means we are forced to acknowledge these facades are no longer salvageable."

372-378 Princes St, which had been among those approved for demolition when an earlier consent was granted to a previous owner, was a win, Mr Mawdsley said.

"There was a real risk we could lose all four heritage buildings, through demolition or structural failure."

Retaining the whole of 372-378 Princes St, as  opposed to just its facade was a preferrable heritage outcome.

"It will ensure at least one of these important Princes St  heritage buildings is protected for future generations.

The plans for demolition have been discussed with Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga, which was responsible for issuing an Archaeological Authority.

Historic bread ovens at the rear of 392 Princes Street will be retained in situ.

"The loss of these historic buildings is regrettable from a heritage perspective, but the focus will now shift to working with the owner to support a new development that is sympathetic to the historic streetscape," Mr Mawdsley sais

The consent also required construction of replacement buildings to begin within two years of demolition being completed.

If that cannot be achieved, a public pocket park would be constructed on the site until redevelopment begins.

The long-running battle over the fate of the Princes St buildings included accusations of "demolition by neglect" and calls for councils to be given more powers to force building owners to maintain heritage buildings.