Homestead moving off site - for now

The Old Homestead in Pt Chevalier. Photo / Chris Gorman

A Victorian homestead in Pt Chevalier is being temporarily removed from its site while its church owner seeks a resource consent to permanently remove it and construct a replica building.

Pt Chevalier's Homestead Community Church was moving the building two weeks ago when Auckland Council halted work under a new heritage control in the draft Unitary Plan.

The move surprised the church, which believed it was entitled to remove what is believed to be one of the original farmhouse/homesteads in the suburb that dates back to about 1880.

After discussions between the parties, the council's hearing committee agreed on Monday to grant temporary removal of the building while its long-term future is determined.

It had been planned to lower the building off a trailer it was perched on and placed back on its foundation, but building and heritage experts raised concerns about the potential for damage on the uneven ground.

They believed it was better to be stored off-site - at a secure yard in Kumeu - where it could be made watertight and at less risk from vandalism and arson.

In a written statement, the minister of the community church, Sandra Warner, said the church was continuing to work with the council to resolve the issue.

Meanwhile, Mt Eden residents are holding a neighbourhood meeting tonight to oppose the removal of a villa at 20 Herbert St - built for Sir Edmund Hillary's grandmother, Harriet Clarke - and replace it with three townhouses.

The application to remove the building was lodged on August 3 - before the new pre-1944 demolition control in the draft Unitary Plan came into effect.