Jean Batten building at risk from loophole, council told

Auckland City Council is being urged to close a loophole to provide greater protection for the Jean Batten Building, which the Bank of New Zealand wants to demolish for a new corporate headquarters in Auckland.

Heritage campaigner Allan Matson and the Art Deco Society are worried the council will be caught flat-footed if the Environment Court decides the bank's demolition consent ran out in December.

The council is seeking a declaratory judgment from the court this month on whether a demolition order granted to the bank in December 2002 is still valid or, under changes to the Resource Management Act, is extended to 2007.

Mr Matson said if the consent was found to have lapsed there was nothing to stop the bank coming to the council "an hour later" and getting a new demolition consent for five years.

Mr Matson told the council's environment, heritage and urban form committee that it would stupid to allow that to happen, particularly when the council considered the building worthy of category B heritage status. The council should take steps to place heritage B status on the building subject to the consent having lapsed, he said.

Art Deco Society spokeswoman Dorothy McHattie said the council had a responsibility and duty to protect the 1942, seven-storey building.

She said a moratorium - with the bank not demolishing the building and the council not giving it heritage status while plans are reviewed for the site - was not legally binding.

"The time it takes for the city to say we will schedule the building, the BNZ can get a demolition consent and bring the bulldozers in," she said.

A BNZ spokesman would not rule out rushing to get a fresh consent if the Environment Court found its consent had lapsed, saying the bank would have to "reassess" its position.

The case is to be heard on July 21.

A spokeswoman for Auckland Mayor Dick Hubbard would not comment on closing the loophole.

Mr Hubbard understood there may be some anxiety but he had an "absolute assurance from the very top of the BNZ" that the bank would keep its side of the moratorium, the spokeswoman said.