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HeritageIntroduction | Protecting our heritage | What's protected? | Working on heritage items | Scheduled ecological sites | Review of residential 1 and 2 zones | Proposal to schedule central area buildings | Proposals to schedule buildings in the Auckland isthmus | Built Heritage Fund | Natural Area Conservation grant Protecting our heritageRole of heritage authoritiesThe Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) sets guidelines for the use of New Zealand's natural and physical resources, in both the urban and rural environment. Local authorities (ie, district, city and regional councils) are required to implement the RMA and oversee its day to day running. The main way we do this is by drawing up district and regional plans - documents that interpret the objectives of the RMA and translate these into actual rules and laws that apply within specific districts and regions. Auckland City has three sections to its district plan - the central area section, the isthmus section and the Hauraki Gulf islands section as shown in the map below. Information on heritage protection in any of these three areas is available in the following sections of the district plan
Why we do itThe heritage provisions of the district plan reflect Auckland City's resolve to exercise strong environmental management over the district. The individual controls of the plan seek to secure the conservation and enhancement of landscape features, buildings and objects, and heritage sites and areas. As original remnants or reminders of our past, heritage places are a limited resource which cannot be recreated. The time span of European settlement in New Zealand is short by world standards. Intact built or other remains from the early periods are scarce in Auckland. Early churches and church related buildings and places are an exception to this general trend. Later periods are better represented by surviving buildings. Our interest in heritage places arises from our natural desire to understand our cultural origins. Although written, drawn, and photographic records offer a lot of information, a sense of real contact with our heritage is most effectively gained only from being able to see, visit, and where appropriate use surviving early buildings, objects and landforms. These heritage places are seen as valuable because they have survived into our time; because they link us to past styles, tastes, customs, techniques, processes, and associations; and because they represent a resource to be conserved and passed on to future generations. How we do itAuckland City is a dynamic environment where change is expected. The conservation of heritage resources must acknowledge present day needs and circumstances. It must be managed and guided in an appropriate manner to ensure that heritage qualities are not devalued or compromised by development or change. Where feasible, such qualities should be enhanced and restored in the process of development or change. Property owners will be encouraged to recognise the advantages of conserving and using heritage buildings. Other forms of conservation incentives will be explored and introduced as the district plan develops. The principal strategy adopted is to identify, protect and enhance heritage features by a range of appropriate statutory mechanisms within the scope of the plan and by other suitable measures outside the plan. The most appropriate measures are applied to achieve the plan's objectives to conserve the district's natural, cultural and scientific heritage resources. There are several ways in which Auckland City protects its heritage in the district plan. If an item is not included in one of the following areas, then generally it is not protected.
Heritage orders Conservation areas Individual scheduling Special character area zoning While the zone is applied to a great number of sites in older parts of the city, there are some streets within the zone which show particular coherence of form and character. These are classified as conservation areas, and are indicated on the planning maps. They are subject to additional controls, set out in Part 5C of the District Plan - Isthmus section.
Adding/removing items to a scheduleThe district plan is formally reviewed ten years after it becomes operative. At this stage the complete plan is reviewed including the heritage schedules (appendices to the district plan) and also the rules which apply to the heritage sections. This is generally the time that council adds to or removes items from the appendices. However, there is opportunity to do this at other stages of a district plan's development. Applications for plan modifications can be made when the district plan is operative, these are referred to as plan changes. When requests for modifications are made to a proposed plan they are referred to as variations. As each section of the district plan is generally at a different stage in its life cycle, please contact us for more information. There may be costs associated with a request to include additional items on a heritage schedule. It is important to note that Auckland City will not undertake the formal scheduling and protection of an item which does not have sufficient defined attributes to meet the score threshold. It may therefore be critical that any request you make is backed up by authoritative information relevant to the assessment process. If you would like to propose a heritage item be scheduled for protection in the
district plan, you will need to print and complete a
Proposal to schedule form This form is available in a Portable Document File (PDF). You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view and print this document. If you do not already have the Adobe Acrobat Reader software, click here for more information. Please contact us for information and advice on heritage protection and scheduling. |
