Auckland city protects character of town centres

Auckland city’s character buildings now have greater protection from demolition or unsympathetic alterations following the approval today of new planning rules by Auckland City Council.

In two separate changes to the Auckland City District Plan, the City Development Committee created greater controls over the demolition or alteration of pre 1940 buildings in the Queen Street valley and Karangahape Road area, and greater protection of character for six town centres located within the traditional suburbs of Auckland city.

Under plan change 5 a resource consent is now required for the demolition or removal of pre 1940 buildings in the Queen Street valley and Karangahape Road area. New applications for the removal or demolition of buildings constructed prior to 1 January 1940 will be assessed against a number of criteria including the character of the building and the street, and the design of any replacement building.

The Queen Street valley precinct includes the areas surrounding High Street, Lorne Street, O’Connell Street and Fort Street. The Karangahape Road precinct covers the ridge-top area between Upper Queen Street and Edinburgh and Howe streets.

Plan change 132 introduces development guidelines to protect the character and broad visual heritage qualities of six town centres. The town centres covered by the change are: Eden Valley (Dominion Road), Ellerslie, Grey Lynn (Surrey Crescent), Kingsland, Upper Symonds Street and West Lynn (Richmond Road).

Councillor Graeme Mulholland, deputy chairperson of the City Development Committee said, “These plan changes allow us to consider the distinctive character of these areas and the way in which older buildings contribute to that character. The focus will be on retaining existing buildings or replacing them with well designed buildings that are appropriate for these particular locations.”

ENDS

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