Heritage group challenges council decision
A heritage protection group in a seaside Auckland suburb is challenging a council consenting decision allowing the supersizing of a beachfront, heritage-listed property.
Consent was granted for plans to build a house extension, swimming pool and vehicle turntable on land beside a house on Oxford Terrace, in Devonport. The renovations involve an approximate doubling in size of the existing building.
The house is a category B building on Auckland Council’s schedule of historic heritage.
Devonport Heritage has called the decision “absolutely disappointing” and on Friday chairperson Trish Deans sent an official complaint to Auckland Mayor Phil Goff.
In the complaint, Deans asked the council to review the “controversial planning decision”.
“At present Auckland Council’s policies and resulting actions imply that there is a climate of casual indifference and disregard for the protection of our heritage,” she wrote.
Talking to the Herald on Sunday, Deans said she believed the decision highlighted inconsistencies across council’s planning and heritage teams.
Deans thought public notification should have been a crucial step in the consenting process to honour the community’s right to have a say.
A decision made in February for the application to proceed on a “publicly notified” basis was later reversed and the application enabled to proceed without notifying the public.
Canavan House was built in 1941 for Graham Routh Canavan of the RNZAF.
The latest QV rating valuation from July 1 last year had the house at $7,050,000.
Reports prepared by Auckland Council relating to the consent application noted the house was “somewhat of a landmark on Cheltenham Beach” while the home’s heritage listing notes said its currently minimalist surroundings drew attention to its “sentinel-like appearance”.
However, plans for development sat within guidelines in both design and scale.
Auckland Council said the only way the decision could be revisited was through a judicial review.
Goff was overseas when his office was approached for comment.
Last month the leader of Council’s Heritage Implementation Team, Rebecca Fogel, said “we stand by our assessment of this project.”
When contacted for comment last month, property owner Nick Hawkins said he had worked extensively with a leading architect to ensure the heritage aspects of the property were maintained.