A fund of up to $1.6 million and a rates holiday are being mooted to encourage people to repair and maintain heritage properties in Auckland City.
The fund would also be available for conservation on the gulf islands and go into a pool to buy heritage properties underthreat.
The council will consider the idea in next year's budget after a review for the heritage policy found unanimous support from the environment, heritage and urban form committee. City heritage chief George Farrant said the incentives might help replace the corrugated iron roof of a beautiful villa or replace aluminium joinery with wooden sash windows.
He said the fund would apply only to 3800 scheduled homes and items. It built on an existing heritage fund and natural area conservation fund, each with funding of $50,000 a year. His department has come up with four options ranging from $700,000 to $1.6 million.
Two options include an annual purchase fund of $500,000 that could build up to $2 million and an annual contingency fund of $100,000. The new funding would come from an increased targeted heritage rate of between $5 and $11 a year.
Committee chairwoman Christine Caughey said the fund was an important step for heritage. "We also need to recognise that a heritage building costs more to maintain than the average house," Ms Caughey said.
Hobson community board member Julie Chambers urged the review to go forward and ask the council to set up an independent charitable trust to help protect the heritage character of properties.
Christchurch and Wellington City Councils had annual heritage funds of $1 million and $350,000 respectively while the Victoria state government has pumped $20.5 million over a four-year period into local heritage grants.
THE BUDGETS
* $1 million Christchurch
* $350,000 Wellington
* $20 million Victoria, Australia
* $50,000 Auckland City
