Heritage sites face demolition under draft district plan proposal

Saturday, 10 March 2018

Victoria University heritage researcher Hamish Crimp in front of a 1856-57 built historic house, Fishleigh Cottage, Aubrey Street, New Plymouth which may be demolished.

New Plymouth's building history is disappearing fast and little is being done by authorities to keep it, a heritage historian says.

Victoria University Wellington conservation research historian Hamish Crimp has spent the past year documenting residential and commercial buildings dating back to the first European settlement from 1840s, outside the city's central business district.

Older buildings, such as The White Hart Hotel, have been restored in New Plymouth's cbd.

Crimp said there was little heritage protection as historic sites subdivided and re-developed.

The volunteer project had highlighted 'the sustained loss of heritage' with the commercial premises, cottages, villas and bungalows quickly disappearing, he said.

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He urged people who valued preserving the historic character to make a submission to the New Plymouth District Council draft district plan before March 16 deadline.

In an email Crimp said he wanted to highlight the current state of heritage sites, like wahi taonga, heritage buildings and structures, and notable trees within New Plymouth district, and encourage people to provide feedback on heritage matters in the draft district plan.

Retaining the city's heritage helped the city remain vibrant and attracted people to live and work, he said.

The proposed draft plan included retaining only one heritage protection category, A, and removing previous categories, B and C, he said.

Category A buildings are classified as having great cultural heritage value.

Buildings currently under categories B and C are classified as of considerable, or of some heritage value, and are not protected under the plan, he said.

NPDC determine the heritage value of a building on various criteria including the buildings history, aesthetic appeal, rarity, setting, and importance to the community.

Category A buildings in New Plymouth include Hurworth Cottage, the hen and chicken cottages on Pendarves St, St Mary's Church and the White Hart Hotel.

A vast majority of historic buildings in New Plymouth are category B and C.

In recent years the old Barrett St Hospital gates and brick wall, and White Hart Hotel have been saved while the Arcadia Hotel, Masters Ltd, and Kibby's buildings have been torn down.

'New Plymouth District Council have done a quite a good job in protecting many older buildings in the business district built have left a large number of historic houses outside the cbd unprotected.'

Crimp recommended the council add more buildings to category A.

The recent sale of an early settler's house, Fishleigh Cottage, built in 1856-57, is an example of the loopholes which exist with NPDC heritage protection classifications, he said.

The vertical board and batten construction on Aubrey St, close to the central city, represented an unique regional variation building style which should be retained, he said.

There were less than 50 similar type style of house in the region still standing.

Fishleigh Cottage is one of the city's oldest buildings but is not protected under the current district plan in spite of its historical value, he said.

'We don't know what the new owner plans to do with the site, or if they are aware of the historical value but it is possible the house would be demolished, and the property sub-divided.'

Any redevelopment on the pre - 1900 site would require a prior archeological assessment from Heritage New Zealand but this would not be enough to protect it from demolition, he said.

Crimp said if the resources were made available the house could be restored, or relocated to another site.

'The council could offer more advice to land owners on how to restore the properties.

'We are losing old buildings in the city 'big time', and with it comprising the character and history of the city.'

Heritage Taranaki member Ivan Bruce also said there was not enough protection to preserve historic buildings outside the cbd.

'The problem is that council had limited resources and had focused on the business area,' he said.

The redevelopment of the historic King and Queen St areas, as the West Precinct, proved these were areas which attracted visitors, he said.

'The redevelopments in the city give the council more bang for its buck,' he said.

Bruce said the Fishleigh Cottage site would be subject to Heritage NZ provisions requiring an archeological investigation process but would not mean the site was exempt from redevelopment.

There were a number of sites which are currently classified category B and C which could be afforded protection under category A, he said.

'There will always be tension between people's rights to manage their own properties and the public's right to preserve heritage.

'What we would like to see is an adaptive re-use of buildings, such as what occurred with the White Hart Hotel, but this required flexibility from developers.'

NPDC group strategy manager Liam Hodgetts replied in an email statement the council welcomed discussion about heritage sites within the district.

It had simplified the draft district plan, while tightening planning controls,he said.

The draft plan had 139 heritage buildings with planning controls compared with 103 previously, he said.

Council contributed $50,000 a year to the Heritage Protection Fund for private landowners to use.

A further $50,000 per year is proposed in the 2018 Long-term Plan.