Wellington City Council supports move to delist heritage buildings more easily

A former British Imperial Oil Company storage tank is heritage-listed in Wellington City Council's District Plan. Photo / Mark Mitchell

• Wellington City Council supports proposed legislation to make it easier for councils to delist heritage buildings in their district plans.
• The council argues it is unreasonable that buildings like a rusting oil storage tank have the same heritage protections as Parliament House.
• Resource Management Act Reform Minister Chris Bishop says the Government is also developing a new national direction to enable better management of heritage, making the rules clearer and simpler.

A city councillor says it is “frankly ludicrous” that a rusting oil tank and a block of abandoned derelict flats have the same heritage protection as buildings such as Parliament House.

Wellington City Council has written in support of proposed legislation to make it easier for councils to delist heritage buildings from their district plans, with many such properties falling into a state of disrepair across the capital.

Often repairs are prohibitively expensive and demolition is usually not an option if a building has heritage status.

It’s not just buildings that are a problem.

Some sea walls and tunnels have also been heritage-listed, making it harder to adapt to climate change or invest in new infrastructure projects.

A historic heritage evaluation said the Gordon Wilson Flats have historic, architectural and technological significance, in particular for their part in the development of the state housing programme. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Wellington City Council has outlined its case in a submission on the Resource Management (Consenting and Other System Changes) Amendment Bill.

This is after it unsuccessfully contested the heritage status of 10 properties last year.

“These contested listings included a rusting oil tank, the abandoned and long derelict Gordon Wilson Flats, and an ordinary suburban house invisible from the street, all without the agreement of their owners,” the council’s Environment and Infrastructure Committee chairman Tim Brown wrote.

“These buildings now have the same protections as buildings such as Parliament House with the costs and impositions on owners that go with such a status.”

A historic heritage evaluation said the rusted tank was installed by the British Imperial Oil Company in the 1920s and used for storage.

“It has significant historic values; its townscape values contribute to an understanding of the history and development of the area; and the tank provides technological information about standard design and construction.”

The monumental Edwardian Baroque structure of Parliament House, built 1912-1922 on an elevated site, is bookended by the Beehive and the Parliamentary Library. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The site of the tank was purchased by a company owned by filmmaker Sir Peter Jackson and his partner Dame Fran Walsh so they could expand their neighbouring Park Road Post Production studios, the evaluation said.

Clare Olsen opposed the heritage listing on behalf of WingNut Films – another company owned by the famous couple.

Olsen said there was significant rust, the roof had a large number of leaks and water came into the building whenever it rained.

The 10,000sq m site was purchased to further develop film infrastructure on the Miramar Peninsula, Olsen said.

Restrictions placed on the site would “inhibit the economic and cultural benefits this site might otherwise bring to Miramar and the wider Wellington region”, Olsen said.

Councillor Ben McNulty, who has pushed for heritage delisting, said it was “frankly ludicrous” the heritage system viewed these buildings to be as important as Parliament House.

“The heritage system is devoid, it’s broken and I would use a word beginning with F that ends with D to describe it more colloquially.”

RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop says the Government is also developing a new national direction to enable better management of heritage, making the rules clearer and simpler to follow. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has previously written to Resource Management Act Reform Minister Chris Bishop about making it easier to remove heritage listings.

Bishop has said he understood the council’s position and was seeking advice on the issue.

The Resource Management (Consenting and Other System Changes) Amendment Bill (RM Bill 2) would make the process of dealing with heritage changes faster.

However, the council was concerned this alone would not change the outcome.

That’s because once something is given heritage status, its protection is a matter of national importance, regardless of public opinion or other issues like maintenance and upgrading infrastructure.

Bishop said the Government is also developing a new national direction to enable better management of heritage, making the rules clearer and simpler to follow.

“This work will complement the changes outlined in RM Bill 2 which is currently before Select Committee.

“I note that both Mayor Whanau and councillor McNulty have praised the actions the Government is taking to develop a more common-sense approach to heritage management, including the provisions in RM Bill 2, stating that they will be ready to utilise the new legislation as soon as it’s passed into law.”

The council said any national direction needed to outline how heritage should be weighed against other priorities.

“Without taking prompt action through a more comprehensive set of RMA reforms, the negative externalities of restrictive regulation such as urban decay, public safety hazards and the emotional and fiscal impact on individuals will likely repeat.”

Georgina Campbell is a Wellington-based reporter who has a particular interest in local government, transport, and seismic issues. She joined the Herald in 2019 after working as a broadcast journalist.