Judicial review looms over Wellington heritage rules

Monday, 10 June 2024

Judicial review papers are being filed this week asking the High Court to look into the Wellington City Council and Government’s designation of character areas in the capital.

The council recently voted through sweeping changes to its District Plan to allow more housing in the city. It means buildings of six storeys will be allowed in several suburbs, including Crofton Downs, Khandallah and Ngaio while Mt Victoria, Aro Valley and Newtown will have their character areas – where swathes of villas are protected from development – significantly reduced.

The changes, with a few tweaks such as saving the crumbling Gordon Wilson flats on The Terrace from demolition, were signed off by Housing and Resource Management Act Minister Chris Bishop.

The group Live Wellington has confirmed it is on Monday filing judicial review proceedings in the High Court, asking it to review the decisions of the council and Bishop.

Live Wellington convenor Jane O’Loughlin said the legal argument centred around the council having a fixed view, which was not moved by evidence to the contrary.

“The evidence presented during the recent District Plan process was clear – Wellington has sufficient land to meet housing needs and protect character areas,” a statement from the group said.

“The idea these are in conflict is false.

“Unfortunately, some councillors involved in decision-making have held a fixed and narrow view that character housing stands in the way of ‘affordable’ housing. As a result, they have refused to engage with the evidence and arguments put forward that paint a different picture.

“Sadly we now need to go to court to support evidence-based decision-making by our council.”

It argued the council rejected recommendations which an independent hearings panel spent months coming up with. These recommendations protected more character areas.

“Among the evidence presented was that future growth needs can easily be accommodated without zoning for six storey heights across three quarters of Wellington’s inner-city suburbs,” the Live Wellington statement said.

It alleged the council, then Bishop, offered few details of their reasoning.

“Live Wellington is taking this action to ensure decisions reflect the evidence. This shows that iconic character areas can be retained at the same time as new, denser housing is introduced to the inner city and central city areas.”

City for People spokesperson Jesse Richardson said Live Wellington were “rehashing an old debate” and the consensus view, from politicians and economists, was that the city’s housing restrictions were harming housing affordability.

The council took an evidence-based approach to its work, Richardson said.

Bishop said he would not comment on a matter before the courts. The council and Mayor Tory Whanau refused to comment.

Ministry for the Environment documents, released last week, gave some of the reasoning behind Bishop refusing to remove heritage protection from the Gordon Wilson flats and other buildings, such as a former Miramar gas tank and the Olympus Apartments in Oriental Bay.

It said there was “not sufficient evidence to support the council’s recommendation to remove [them] from the heritage schedule”.