Gordon Wilson flats could have been de-listed if university had shown up to hearing

Wednesday, 21 February 2024

The chairperson of Wellington’s housing panel says the university did not do enough to remove the “prominent and controversial” heritage listing from the Gordon Wilson Flats.

“To put it bluntly, I was expecting a massive scrap and the university was nowhere,” Trevor Robinson told councillors at a briefing on Tuesday afternoon.

The flats are well known as a highly visible example of a building that cannot be demolished because of its heritage listing. The owner of the flats, Victoria University of Wellington, has been crusading to get the heritage listing removed from the flats since 2015, even taking the matter to the Environment Court where it lost its case.

The university’s written submissions on the District Plan said that any renovation of the flats would be a “financial failure” and there was no appetite from the university, council or government to refurbish the flats.

Chief operating officer Tina Wakefield said the university was surprised at the comments from Robinson.

“We are also concerned at the suggestion that appearing in person would have led to approval to de-list the Gordon Wilson Flats. … In our view, a robust process is based on high-quality arguments and evidence and not on the manner in which the arguments and evidence are delivered.”

At the briefing to councillors, Nīkau Wi Neera had asked why there had not been enough evidence to remove the infamous Gordon Wilson Flats from the heritage list.

Robinson replied that while Victoria University of Wellington had made a submission asking for the heritage listing to be removed, representatives had not shown up to the hearings or provided expert evidence.

“We had the council’s expert say the heritage listing was justified, Heritage NZ say it was, an interest group who called a heritage expert saying it was justified. And we had absolutely zip from the university,” Robinson said.

The building was “obviously one of the most prominent and controversial heritage listings”, Robinson acknowledged. He used to live in Karori and had looked at the flats dozens of times while driving up the Terrace, seeing them falling apart and deteriorating.

Last week the university was excited at the prospect of the heritage listing being removed. A spokesperson said: “If the heritage status were to be removed on the Gordon Wilson Flats, it would provide the university with exciting options to explore in regards to teaching, learning, research and assisting students who are grappling with the cost of living crisis and a shortage of accommodation in Wellington.”

Instead, the panel has recommended the flats remain on the heritage list. While the council will have the opportunity to change the recommendations of the panel, without detailed expert evidence outlining a lack of heritage value, it is likely to be constrained in terms of whether it can remove the listing.

Robinson explained that showing up in person was a “huge factor” in terms of whose evidence was given more weight at the hearings. The panel found having a “real live witness” sitting in front of them, who could respond to questions, gave them more confidence.

Wakefield said the university had been “fully engaged” in the submissions process.

After seeing the council’s report to the hearings panel about Gordon Wilson Flats, which said the resource consent process was the most appropriate avenue to consider whether the flats could be demolished, the university had decided not to pursue de-listing through the District Plan.

Victoria University of Wellington had already spent considerable amounts of time and money on an unsuccessful Environment Court process regarding de-listing the Gordon Wilson Flats.

It had advised the panel it would not be attending the hearing on the basis of advice in the council’s report. Wakefield said she was especially surprised by Robinson’s comments, given the university’s partnership with the council on a number of building-related projects, including the National Music Centre and the recently opened Whānau Mārama Apartments.

The university remained “eager to remove the heritage classification on the Gordon Wilson Flats so that we can move forward as funding allows”, and to work with the council in this regard.

The former British Imperial Oil storage tank in Miramar, formerly the California Garden Centre, was in a similar boat. The commissioners recommended that the tank should be heritage listed.

WingNut Films Productions, Peter Jackson’s film company, had not shown up to the hearings to explain why the tank did not deserve to be on the heritage list, Robinson said.

“The submitter did not appear, and did not give us any evidence on the heritage value.”

Once again, it had been “absolutely zip” – while the council evidence had said it retained heritage values, WingNut had not provided evidence which cast doubt on the heritage values.

A written submission from chief executive Clare Olssen suggested the company would be inhibited in hiring 150 staff if the heritage listing stayed.

UPDATED: This story was updated to include a response from Victoria University. Updated 11.58am, February 21, 2024.