Council to review Lower Hutt's District Plan heritage provisions

In the coming weeks about 240 Lower Hutt building owners will be asked their views on the heritage merits of their buildings as part of Hutt City Council's review of Lower Hutt's District Plan heritage provisions.

The review will look at how well these provisions have been helping to keep heritage buildings protected, what they have meant for owners who want to make changes to their houses or buildings, and whether or not some of these provisions need to be changed.

The buildings have been identified during a comprehensive assessment of the City's heritage buildings which also looked at most of the 100 buildings currently protected in the District Plan.

District Plan Subcommittee Chair, Councillor Roger Styles, says Council is expecting a mixed reaction from owners to the news that their house or building has been identified as having heritage value.

"Some will think it's a great thing to be in the inventory, while others won't see it in such a positive way.

"At this initial stage we're wanting to collect as much feedback as possible from those people most directly affected. As a Council we'll consider the feedback before producing any final proposals about the District Plan provisions and which buildings should be in or out of the District Plan."

At this stage the list of buildings will not be made public by Council in order to maintain the privacy of the owners.

Further Information about the review

Background
Council commissioned a group of heritage consultants and local experts to take a look at which buildings in Lower Hutt could be considered worthy of heritage protection in the District Plan. They used internationally recognised criteria including design, materials, craftsmanship and setting to assess the heritage value of buildings identified throughout the City. The result is an inventory of 147 buildings and a further 12 groups of buildings which are considered to be of historic significance at either a national, regional or local level. They range from some of the earliest examples of European settlement to buildings designed in the 1990s. The majority are residential and located on the valley floor, in Petone and the Eastern Bays.

Consultation
Council will be contacting the owners of all the buildings identified in the inventory. They will receive a copy of the assessment for their building and information about what it would mean if their building was included in the District Plan. Each owner will asked to give their feedback on the heritage assessments and to comment on the sort of provisions which could be put into the District Plan and how they think this would affect them and their property.

Letters, information packs and feedback forms will be sent out to each owner on the inventory straight after the District Plan Subcommittee meets on 21 September. An information evening or evenings will be held to allow owners to discuss options and ideas with officers and councillors. Consultation about how heritage buildings in general should be protected in the District Plan will also be undertaken with interested groups. A draft proposed change to the District Plan, including a new list of heritage buildings, will be ready to be considered by Council around February next year. If that is adopted then there will be another full round of public consultation under the requirements of the Resource Management Act.

ENDS

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