Homestead owners apply for facelift permission

A facelift and subtle firming up is in the works for an elderly Earnscleugh landmark, which will result in a reduction in its distinctive red brick look.

Aucklanders Marco Creemers and Ryan Sanders bought the Earnscleugh Station homestead property about a year ago.

A staff member flagged it to Mr Sander’s attention as a possible addition to his Haka Tourism Group stable of upmarket backpacker accommodation.

His response was to send the information on to his husband with a note saying they would live there.

The couple are now applying to the Central Otago District Council to undertake alterations to the exterior of the building for weather tightness and seismic strengthening.

The application said the land was currently subject to a resource consent application to subdivide the property into three separate allotments. There would also be a further application for external alterations to the homestead at a later date.

Formerly part of Earnscleugh Station, the site is a category one historic place listed with Heritage New Zealand.

The property is made up of the homestead, quarters, stables and farm buildings.

The consent application said the owners planned to plaster parts of the homestead exterior to protect against the elements and for seismic strengthening. Part of the south side, including the parapet, would be left unfinished to express the history of the building.

The homestead is considered to have considerable architectural and aesthetic significance because of the work of Edmund Anscombe, one of the foremost and influential architectural exponents of the Jacobethan style in New Zealand, and Alfred Buxton for the designed landscape that provides a setting that complements the architectural composition.

It appeared the bricks were never intended to be exposed for so many years and the construction and quality of them had degraded over the years. The homestead was built around 1920.

Heritage New Zealand said while the proposed rendering did not uphold the heritage of the building it would preserve it.

The suggested method of seismic strengthening would minimise internal work needed and reduce the potential impact on the interior, Heritage New Zealand said.

The applicant and consultant team had undertaken extensive consultation with Heritage New Zealand since April 2022 and had obtained their written approval.

The application said the written approval from Heritage New Zealand was demonstrative of the care the applicant had taken in designing the proposal to reuse the buildings while appropriately protecting their heritage values.

A notified consent was required as the proposed render colour breached council rules about colour and light reflectivity.

Any alteration to a category-one heritage building required a notified consent.

Submissions on the applications close on March 20.