Century- old Parnell church hall faces demolition
A 117- year- old church hall being hocked off to potential developers in Parnell faces demolition after the Auckland Council removed it from the heritage schedule without consultation following an error by town planners.
Locals are furious after learning the building could be torn down, but the council says it never had protection and the change in classification was simply to tidy up a clerical error.
The Gothic- inspired building sits beside the Knox Church in Birdwood Cres on a large 1900sq m site worth more than $ 12 million.
Heritage expert and Waitemata ¯ Local Board member Allan Matson says the hall has significant architectural value and association with people and the community.
It was previously listed under the Unitary Plan’s schedule of historic heritage, which is notified to the public and offers protection to celebrated heritage buildings across city. For that reason, locals had no idea it was at risk.
Matson believes it should never have been removed from the schedule and wants the council to urgently review its decision before the building is sold by the Presbyterian Church.
The Weekend Herald understands the Knox Church congregation has dwindled in recent years and that the hall, which was once used regularly for community functions, has fallen into disrepair.
A Bayley’s listing says that after long- term ownership, the Knox Church property is now “surplus to the vendor’s requirements”, which a church spokesman confirmed.
The listing says it offers “a range of opportunities” to purchasers, including redeveloping the site or repurposing existing buildings and land.
While the pre- 1900 wooden Knox Church building is protected under the Unitary Plan, a code compliance certificate has been issued to demolish the 1906 brick church hall.
Auckland Council heritage unit manager Noel Reardon said the
1898 Knox Church was scheduled for heritage protection in the legacy Auckland City District Plan. The
1906 hall was also evaluated by the legacy council in 1994, but found to be of inadequate heritage value to justify its protection, Reardon said.
However, the hall was subsequently listed in the heritage schedule “in error” in the proposed Auckland Unitary Plan in 2013, which should have listed only the Knox Church.
The council’s heritage unit had reviewed the schedule of historic heritage since the Unitary Plan became operative “to identify and correct errors and anomalies and update information”. This resulted in amendments in 2017 and 2022, removing the hall from the schedule.
Reardon stressed that although the hall had been named in the schedule it was never protected under the Unitary Plan as it did not appear in heritage overlay maps which identify protected buildings.
However, Matson said the changes were never consulted on and believed they should have been handled through O ¯ a publicly notified plan change process.
Local residents and heritage protection groups were never given the chance to argue for its preservation.
Parnell had already lost many heritage buildings, which Matson described as “death by a thousand cuts”.
A Bayley’s agent confirmed there was a certificate to demolish. Tenders had closed this week and “offers received are currently sitting with the vendor”.