As Auckland prepares to honour its Heritage Festival, Sophie Bond watches our older suburbs' history disappear - not under the claw of a bulldozer, but on the back of a truck.
From the back of this Ponsonby cottage there's a good view of a rambling Remuera villa. That's not one of those over-optimistic real estate ads: both houses have been removed from their original homes and are up for grabs, cheek by jowl with a dozen other buildings, in a Kumeu saleyard.
These two are like the cute puppies in the pet shop. They'll be snapped up, most likely by keen DIYers with lifestyle blocks.
"Anything built pre-1930s, of reasonable size and good original condition will fly off the lot," says Craig Walker of Craig Walker Building Removals.
"People have a passion for the style and construction, the stud height, the room.
"And I think for most people it's dollar-driven, because what you can get in square metreage compares much better to a new building."
Mr Walker has been in the business for 40 years. He's become familiar with the various heritage rules and restrictions and followed the trends in moving houses.
"In the 60s and 70s we used to deliver a lot of stock to the farming community. That seemed to die off in the 80s and we began doing a lot of infill work - putting a second house on a section - into the 90s, too. In the new millennium the trend has been a little bit more carting out of Auckland while maintaining delivery to lifestyle blocks."
Traditionally, the former Rodney District hosted many of the moved houses; now they shift anywhere from Clevedon to Waiuku in the south of the super-city.
"Today our biggest demand would be for quality vintage homes to go on lifestyle blocks, but they are getting hard to find. The heritage rules have impacted that.
"When Plan Change 163 was brought in (see panel), anything pre-1940s was of heritage value, though there were tricks you could use to try and circumvent it. "
HIS COMPANY was one of several parties represented by Heavy Haulage, the consortium responsible for forcing a re-evaluation of the Residential 2 zone restrictions under Plan Change 163.
Mr Walker believes blanket rules for heritage don't work.
"I do think there's an absolute need to preserve in situ some heritage homes in Auckland, but there are situations where the planning rules become nonsensical."
In his view, councils need to be cautious about putting orders against people's homes - they can affect the property's value and limit allowable modifications.
"There's a time to preserve and a time to reorganise. Owners who choose to relocate a house might want more intense development on the site or might want to upgrade to a modern home with the advantages of easy maintenance and being eco-friendly."
He believes a bigger issue than removing older homes is the question of what goes in their place.
"It's about building control. You shouldn't be able to do certain things in areas of Auckland with a character value. At the same time the regulations can allow people to live in the areas they want, in user-friendly homes."
From his home turf of Mt Eden, Peter Haynes has been watching recent removals with dismay.
"It was a whole bunch of houses disappearing over the course of a year, in particular from Mt Eden Rd," laments the Albert Eden Local Board chair. "And then one just up the street from me. From where I'm standing I can see the horrible box they've stuck in its place."
He's worried heritage protections are not widespread enough.
"I've had a look at the heritage overlay of the houses that have been taken and none of them were protected. It does not cover an awful lot of the houses that it should.
"It won't be long before there's more of Mt Eden's heritage in Kumeu than there is here."
His board's local plan includes a survey of the area's heritage.
"We are looking at using some of the latest technology to do this, so that people could actually go online and list their own house or neighbouring houses.
"There is little protection for the character of our neighbourhoods and we need to address this urgently. My strong view is that the local communities should be able to determine their own character. I don't hold with the idea that when you buy a property you can do whatever the hell you like with it," says Mr Haynes.
"The Waitemata , Orakei and Albert-Eden boards have the majority of heritage buildings in their areas and so it's a concern that is specific to us. That's why we were adamant local boards should have a say in resource consent matters [the Auckland Council vetoed this, banning the boards from making submissions or appeals, allowing them to express views only in officers' reports].
"The other thing we're doing is pushing for stronger guidelines in the Auckland Plan.
"Our board does not want our character housing to be left too vulnerable while the Unitary Plan proceeds slowly through its stages."
Heritage advocate Allan Matson says the council's Unitary Plan, which will replace the defunct authorities' district and regional plans, is an opportunity for the city to protect more of its character.
"If the public really want to protect character in a stronger way than Plan Change 163 does, then the Unitary Plan is the time for that.
"In Auckland, over the last few years, there's been quite a move to make some heritage improvements. First there was Plan Change 5 that took in all the pre-1940s buildings in the central city. Then 163 did that for the suburbs."
When demolition or removal is threatened, concerned members of the public often enter the battle too late in the piece, he suggests.
"Look at what happened in Turua St. The houses had character value under the St Heliers plan and when the owner appealed to remove [the character value], the community's slip-up was they didn't join the negotiations. With a simple letter they could have become 274 Parties to the Environment Court proceedings."
It's not just being a Nimby, or clinging to the past: when character homes are moved, it can affect the value of neighbours' properties.
"You're kidding yourself if you think it doesn't affect what everyone else on the street sees.
"You lose the house's contribution to the street by taking it away."
However, he recognises that limiting what someone can do with their property is fraught with complications.
There may be few incentives for someone to put the work into maintaining an older building. "The owner should get some rates relief because they are losing some financial gain," he says.
Mr Matson feels old houses are a connection with our past and ultimately removal is a better option than demolition.
"In time the houses that are moved will assume heritage value. Here in New Zealand we have a history of moving things, it's part of our colonial heritage.
"But the fact is the house's removal probably detracts from the value of the street and you've got to weigh it against what monster is replacing it."
The Aucklander asked the Auckland Council about the removal of four houses within the Albert-Eden area.
Heritage manager Noel Reardon says the properties were within residential zones 5 and 6A, where it is permitted to demolish a structure unless it is a scheduled heritage building.
He says there are no assessments or plan changes in progress to review these zones.
ACCORDING TO PLAN
Plan Change 163 to the former Auckland City District Plan was developed in response to concerns that existing rules were not protecting special character in Residential 1 and 2 zones.
Initially notified in 2005, the plan change identified properties that would have tighter demolition and removal controls. Demolishing, removing or external alterations to a pre-1940s house within the two zones would need resource consent.
A number of submissions criticising the blanket application of controls in zone 2 resulted in appeals to the Environment Court. As a result, the council undertook closer study of the Residential 2 zone. This report concluded not all pre-1940s buildings in the zone had character warranting a consent to demolish or remove.
Residential 2 character zones are mainly found in Mt Albert, Herne Bay, Epsom, One Tree Hill, Parnell, Remuera, Kohimarama and St Heliers
LIVING HISTORY
The Auckland Heritage Festival runs September 17-October 2 with more than 200 events from lectures and dances to walks and films. Here's a peek at what's on:
Hikoi on the Hill
Discover the archaeological and cultural history of Maungakiekie/One Tree Hill with guide Malcolm Paterson. September 21, 24, 10am-noon
Find your sea legs
Voyager Maritime Museum's immigration workshops help identify your maritime ancestors. September 21, 28, 10.30am-noon. $30pp includes a sail on heritage vessel Ted Ashby
