Judge takes close-up look at pub in revamp row

An urban designer says the hotel merits the highest levels of protection. Photo / Sarah Ivey

The principal Environment Court judge and commissioners yesterday visited Devonport on Auckland's North Shore for a first-hand look at the Masonic Hotel, which developers want to turn into apartments.

Judge Craig Thompson said that as a non-Aucklander he would like to see the setting of the tavern in King Edward Pde, which has waterfront heritage buildings and places, including the site of the first execution of a European prisoner in New Zealand.

On Tuesday, the court finished hearing evidence from residents' groups appealing against the plan, which has resource consent from North Shore City Council.

One of the last expert witnesses was urban designer James Lunday, who said the Masonic building - parts of which date back to the 1860s - merited the highest level of protection.

He said Devonport was a historic treasure. Other inner suburbs such as Ponsonby, Parnell and Mt Eden were historically as important, but Devonport's coastal environment, volcanic cones and waterborne access elevated it to a position that attracted regional, national and international visitors.

"It is an intact example of Victorian colonial town planning and architecture," said Mr Lunday. "When operating in an area that is a national treasure, urban interventions have a higher significance and therefore must perform to the highest standards of responsive design.

"Therefore, it is not the individual building that make Devonport unique; it is the collection of old buildings, the urban pattern and form, the natural environment, the cultural environment, the vibe."

Town planner Brian Putt said Redback Development's proposal involved demolition of a listed heritage building based on an inadequate conservation plan.

It should have been considered as a change to the district plan instead of as a resource consent application. This would have given fuller consideration of heritage values of the tavern and effects on neighbouring properties.

Archaeologist Caroline Phillips said the Masonic was the only remaining 19th-century hotel in Auckland that still retained its relationship with the waterfront and should be left intact.

Redback's work had considerably added to what is known about the site.

"However, until more detailed archaeological test investigation of the building and buried deposits are undertaken, the property and its structures remain potentially significant."

Dr Phillips said investigation of the wider property could add to the site's importance if it uncovered evidence of early Maori occupation as well as further human remains.

A plaque on King Edward Pde marks the spot where on June 17 1848 Joseph Burns was hanged for the murder of the a naval lieutenant, his wife and child.