Mayoral Candidate Advocates Physical And Digital Labelling For Heritage Buildings

Better communication is key to Wellingtonians understanding and affecting the heritage protections that apply to inner city buildings, leading mayoral candidate Celia Wade-Brown said today.

"The debate over the demolition of two Willis Street retail shops has brought the issue of heritage protection to the fore", says Celia Wade-Brown. "Not every old building in the city is protected under the District Plan, so most people are unaware of the degree of protection that actually exists, and which buildings it applies to. The Council needs to do a much better job of letting Wellingtonians know which buildings are protected, and I think a combination of heritage plaques and digital mapping is key to this."

Celia Wade-Brown is proposing that all protected structures in the District Plan are marked with a heritage plaque, following the appropriate international standards. "Many people will have seen these plaques when they've travelled, particularly in Europe. It makes it clear which buildings are in little danger of demolition - and conversely, where there is no plaque, it can inform people that they need to take action if they think the building should be protected", says Celia Wade-Brown.

As well as physical indicators, Celia Wade-Brown is advocating a digital map of heritage structures using a combination of Council-supplied GIS information and Google Maps. "Locating heritage structures in the digital domain is equally important", says Celia Wade-Brown. "If elected mayor, I want to see our heritage buildings mapped onto a Google Maps layer, so the information is freely accessible to anyone with an Internet connection. Having easily accessible digital information is a key part of protecting our built heritage, and a key part of transparent local government. The existing heritage inventory is limited and not up to date. Citizens should also be able to record their stories about places."

Celia Wade-Brown says she has long been a passionate advocate for heritage protections, and led the successful introduction of the pre-1930s demolition rule in Mt Victoria and Thorndon in the 1990s that prevented key parts of our heritage being lost forever. "I initiated the Island Bay Heritage area, and there are now six more suburban shopping heritage areas proposed to be added to the District Plan. In the 1990s I successfully fought to save Shed 21, the Odlins Building, Herd St Post Office (Chaffers) and others from demolition", says Celia Wade-Brown. "I urge the public to have input on the proposed heritage areas in District Plan Change 75 by 27th September.

ENDS

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