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       RMA Minister rejects Wellington council's bid to remove heritage
       protections from buildings
        
 (HTM) Source
        
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       The Gordon Wilson Flats were diagnosed with "concrete cancer" and
       evacuated in 2012.  Photo: The Wireless / Rebekah Parsons-King
        
       The Minister for RMA reform has rejected Wellington City Council's
       recommendation to remove heritage protections from several buildings.
        
       In March, as part of its District Plan amendments, council rejected
       recommendations from an Independent Hearings Panel, and voted to
       remove 10 buildings from the heritage list.
        
       The Gordon Wilson Flats, Miramar Gas Tank, Emeny House, Kahn House,
       Olympus Apartments, Wharenui Apartments, Robert Stout Building,
       Primitive Methodist Church, Johnsonville Masonic Hall and Star of the
       Sea Chapel all had their heritage protections removed.
        
       However, the final sign-off on the council's recommendations lay with
       the RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop, who has instead sided with the
       Hearings Panel.
        
       Bishop said council did not provide sufficient evidence to support its
       reasons for removing the buildings from the Heritage schedule.
        
       "That said, I understand the council's position regarding the 10
       buildings and I have received separate correspondence from the mayor
       around making it easier to delist heritage buildings," Bishop said.
        
       "I have already asked for advice on this matter and I look forward to
       conversations with her and other councils regarding the issue of
       heritage and how it impedes development."
        
       RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop.  Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
        
       Bishop also sided with the Hearings Panel in a decision to enable
       building heights of six storeys within a 10-minute walkable catchment
       from the Kilbirnie Metropolitan Centre Zone. Council wanted to retain
       existing notified building heights and zoning, and instead develop a
       new plan within a year.
        
       In total, the council referred 20 alternative recommendations to the
       minister.
        
       He has agreed to nine of them, including zoning a strip of Adelaide
       Road as City Centre Zone (the hearings panel wanted it zoned as mixed
       use), classifying the Johnsonville train line as rapid transit, and
       exempting developments of one to three residential units in medium and
       high-density residential zones from minimum front and side yard
       requirements.
        
       "The reasons for accepting these recommendations vary depending on the
       precise issue, but in general, the council's recommendations give
       better effect to the National Policy Statement on Urban Development in
       that they provide additional capacity for housing and business land,
       will better achieve a well-functioning urban environment, will better
       provide for a competitive development market and provide for a more
       efficient use of land," Bishop said.
        
       Bishop said he had taken extensive advice from officials, and could
       only take into account matters the hearings panel could have taken
       into account when making its recommendations. He said he had not
       commissioned new evidence.
        
       ### Mayor disappointed
        
       Tory Whanau.  Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
        
       Wellington mayor Tory Whanau was disappointed the minister had not
       accepted council's heritage protection recommendations.
        
       "The issue is that under the current law these buildings are
       considered heritage. However, we have recently written to the minister
       about making it easier to delist heritage buildings and he is seeking
       advice. We will continue to work with him on this," she said.
        
       Whanau was pleased the minister had accepted nine out of the 10
       alternative zoning recommendations.
        
       "This is a step forward for Wellington and shows commitment from both
       local and central government to fixing our housing crisis," she said.
        
       "Wellington City is growing, and our housing needs to grow with it. We
       are expecting 50,000 to 80,000 more people over the coming 30 years.
       At a bare minimum, everyone in this city deserves a warm, safe, and
       dry place to call home."
        
        
        
        
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