Heritage groups are fighting Government plans for greater intensification in Auckland's old suburbs. Photo / Sylvie Whinray
A Labour Government edict to demolish villas and bungalows for six-storey apartments in Auckland is a very real threat to the future of the city, heritage groups say.
"We are really worried about the things that make Auckland unique - the Waitematā Harbour, the volcanic cones and the kauri homes. Those are the things that give the city its identity," Sally Hughes says.
She is the spokesperson for the Character Coalition, an umbrella group of more than 60 heritage, historical and community groups who "care deeply about the city".
Five years after the Character Coalition was locked in an intergenerational battle over heritage versus intensification during work on the Unitary Plan, the coalition is regrouping for another battle.
This time the target is not just Auckland Council, but the Labour Government and its National Policy Statement (NPS) on Urban Development that directs the council to expand intensification deep inside many of the city's traditional suburbs.
The edict for apartment buildings of "at least" six storeys has captured 30,000 homes given "special character" status in the Unitary Plan. These old homes are predominantly in the city's early suburbs such as Ponsonby, Herne Bay, St Marys Bay, Grey Lynn, Parnell, Birkenhead and Devonport.
The NPS gives the council the discretion to keep some of the special character areas, but council planners say these areas are also the biggest stumbling block to greater intensification sought by the Government.
Hughes says it is a laudable aim for a Labour Government to focus on providing housing for people, but it comes down to the how, not the why.
"Do we want a city that is shaped by developers or do we want one that provides more housing without losing the city's identity, history and its beauty," she said.
Margot McRae, of Devonport Heritage, says everywhere is under threat, including her suburb which has been a popular recreational day trip for Aucklanders since the 1880s.
She says the great thing about the city's character suburbs is the size of them, the lovely rhythm of houses and the streetscape that go on and on.
"If you go to the great cities of the world or even the little Italian towns it is the sameness of the buildings that march up a street or down a road.
"Quantity is important. We want to have streets of houses where people live in them and they are not tiny museum precincts. Something enormous will be lost if those areas are broken up and shrunk to a pathetic little size," she said.
Fears by heritage groups of pepper-potting - a mix of six-storey apartments and special character houses in the same street - appear to be ruled out by council planners, who say there are likely to be logical boundaries to avoid perverse outcomes.
Council heritage manager Noel Reardon said if you had a street of special character where three of the sites did not meet the criteria and you built six storeys, that would invariably alter the character of the street.
Street-based surveys of special character properties have started to assess whether each property has high, medium or low qualities. Only high-quality houses will retain special character status. Medium and low-quality houses will lose protection and be rezoned for apartments.
Reardon said each house would be tested against six criteria: scale, relationship to street, period of development, typology, architectural style, and level of physical integrity. Houses would have to pass five of the six criteria to retain special character status.
There is more work to be done by the council on special character areas and there will be public consultation in August next year before any changes are made.
McRae is furious about Auckland having another battle over heritage so soon after the Unitary Plan when the issue was "thrashed out at great expense, time and money".
She said it is the responsibility of Auckland councillors to have a vision for the city, not just take the easy route and do what they are told by the Government.
"In Christchurch, Mayor Lianne Dalziel said 'b***** this, you are not going to tell us how we see our city'," McRae said.
Dalziel told the Weekend Herald the council supports the underlying intent of the NPS, but is concerned it will enable over intensification in some suburban areas at the expense of amenity value for residents.
In a letter to Environment Minister David Parker, Dalziel made it crystal clear six-storey apartments had no place in the rebuild of Christchurch, saying the plan was for a "lower rise quality built environment".
Herne Bay Residents' Association co-chair Don Mathieson is gobsmacked the Government is overruling the Unitary Plan that he says is working well.
He said the Unitary Plan hearings panel, overseen by Environment Judge David Kirkpatrick, decided the best place for intensification in Herne Bay was along the ridgeline without sticking them in a street of villas. This was happening, he said.
Mathieson said it is ridiculous for the Government or council to think they can build affordable housing in Herne Bay - the most expensive suburb in New Zealand.
Apartment buildings are being built on Jervois Rd. At one development, a one-bedroom apartment costs $1.7 million and "luxury plus charm" for a two-bedroom apartment carries a $2.1m pricetag.
Up the road in Ponsonby, property developer Kelly McEwan has brought in leading architects Jeff Fearon and Tim Hay to design bespoke apartments which could go for more than $10m each.
A senior council planner, Jacques Victor, told councillors on Thursday the NPS will create more houses, more competition, greater choice and have an effect on house prices over time, but will not address affordability for a lot of people.
He said the city could do with more development capacity, but other things need to be done to address affordability.
"This is not the solution," Victor said.
In Parnell, the local heritage group has seen firsthand the push for greater intensification.
An art deco building and longtime grocery store at the top of Parnell Rd is being demolished for a tall building and a retirement village has exceeded the height limits in the valley alongside the restored 1908 Newmarket Railway station relocated to Parnell.
Parnell Heritage chair Julie Hill said if the character overlay on Parnell Rd is lost there will be canyons of high buildings blocking lovely glimpses of the Auckland Domain and Auckland Museum.
She said "Wellington" is a dirty word for Parnell Heritage and questions if Mayor Phil Goff is torn between speaking up for Auckland and his political ties to the Labour Government.
On Thursday, Goff said the issue was about finding a balance between intensification and protecting what was important to the city in the way of cultural and architectural heritage.
"We are not going to send in the bulldozers and wipe out the old villas," he said.
In 2005, Auckland City Mayor Dick Hubbard used almost the exact same words when announcing sweeping changes to save the city's character suburbs.
"We will end the days of the unannounced bulldozer," Hubbard said.
The 19-year-old disappeared without her wallet or mobile phone.