‘Happy’ heritage listing gone
Emeny House was the only home with an interior heritage-listing in Wellington – but no longer.
Some homeowners were disappointed yesterday when, despite the council voting to remove their homes from the heritage list, Minister Chris Bishop reinstated them due to legal advice around a lack of evidence.
But for Tony and Debra DeLorenzo it was a case of losing the battle but winning the war. “We’re looking forward to a little bit of normality in our lives,” Tony DeLorenzo said.
All parts of the home, including the garden, were added to the heritage list just after the DeLorenzos bought the property in 2007. At the time, they had no idea how restrictive the heritage listing, which unusually applied to both the interior and the exterior of the building, would be.
Emeny House was filled with elaborate plasterwork by its original owner, wellknown plasterer Charles Emeny, just a few years before the end of the 19th century. Council heritage assessors described the decorative plasterwork as “earlier and finer than are generally associated with houses of this type, style, and size”.
DeLorenzo spoke to the panel on Wellington’s district plan and explained the situation. He described the house as “the most heavily restricted residential home in Wellington” and complained that there was little support available to help residents comply with the restrictions.
The panel agreed that the interior heritage listing should be removed. The decision meant that although Bishop did not totally remove the house from the heritage list, the DeLorenzos’ most cumbersome restriction has been lifted.
In its report, the panel of commissioners wrote that Emeny House’s interior was listed only because the council knew that the elaborate designs were there.
“We find this an unsatisfactory basis for a heritage listing of the interior of a private home, over the owner’s objection, given the imposition that imposes on those owners.”
Other buildings with interior listings tend to be elaborate, public-facing venues such as the St James – and the DeLorenzos found themselves being held to a similar standard.
Renovations like installing a new hot water system required resource consent, meaning they went without hot water for months as they waited for approval.
“We’re very happy that the internal listing is off and because the council seemed to struggle with how to manage an internal historical listing for a residential property,” DeLorenzo said.
The couple had found heritage processes “difficult and confusing”, even as they tried to follow the rules by asking council staff for advice. More proactive help from the council would encourage owners to look after their homes and comply with the rules rather than asking for forgiveness, DeLorenzo said. A lot of the information was buried on a website and not easy to follow.
The outside of Emeny House would remain listed, but was not as much of a concern compared to the interior.
Yesterday, DeLorenzo spoke to the council and confirmed which conditions would continue to apply to the house.
Exterior renovations like changing the weatherboards would require resource consent, but he now had more knowledge of how the garden was protected: while the planting bays were protected, the plants themselves were not.
“We can plant whatever we want ... The rose bush was planted by the original owner back in 1898 and it’s amazing when it’s in full bloom, half the street smells of roses.
“So why would we want to get rid of it? But now actually, we do have a choice.”