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Protecting our heritage
Role of heritage authorities
The 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
- Central area - the central area section of the district plan is not
available online as it is not yet operative. Contact
us for information about heritage protection in the central area.
- Auckland isthmus - See Part 5C
of the District plan - Isthmus section
- Hauraki Gulf islands - See Part
10 of the District plan - Hauraki Gulf islands section
Why we do it
The 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 it
Auckland 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
This is the most stringent protective measure that
can be placed on a property. It is a legal notice and can be applied at short
notice by any heritage authority.
Conservation areas
This is the next level of heritage protection and
not only protects the buildings in these areas but also the gardens, streets
and footpath's and everything else in the area depicted on the planning maps
Individual scheduling
The appendices in the district plan contain
all the individual scheduled items. Items are
individually listed.
Special character area zoning
The Residential 1 zone provides for the survival of the historic form, buildings
and streetscapes in Auckland's earliest established residential neighbourhoods.
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 schedule
The 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 (275kb PDF)
To view PDFs download Acrobat Reader
from the Adobe
website.
Further help on how to view PDFs.
Please contact us for information
and advice on heritage protection and scheduling.
Updated August 2009
