Mr Brocklehurst said he was at Auckland Council this month reading the property file when he saw a demolition certificate had been granted for the block of five flats, which he purchased in 2009 for $450,000 and pays an annual ground lease of more than $30,000 that expires in 2022.
"I couldn't believe what I had seen," said Mr Brocklehurst.
"Tram Lease have never contacted or spoken to me about their intentions. I can't believe the council didn't notify me on receiving the application in the first instance and granting it in the second instance," he said.
Tram Lease and its owners did not respond to questions yesterday.
Council central resource consenting manager Mark White said Tram Lease lodged the application just before the Unitary Plan was notified in September 2013.
It was one of many applications made to avoid the pre-1944 rules requiring a resource consent for demolition, he said. Mr White said there was nothing to stop anyone putting in an application to demolish a building on any property, saying it was relatively common among people checking what they can do on a property before buying.
He said if anyone wanted to do any physical works on a site they had to be the owners and get a building consent.
The council had not given Tram Lease permission to do any work on the Parnell site, he said, and any work would be a civil matter between the company and Mr Brocklehurst.
Mr Brocklehurst and Parnell Heritage said the building is highly visible and significant for Aucklanders.
The building, he said, was built during World War II in 1940, original in all aspects and one of the few art deco buildings in Parnell.
Last month, the independent panel considering the Unitary Plan issued an interim guidance rejecting the pre-1944 demolition controls, but has still to hear formal evidence on the issue.
Heritage fight
• Art Deco building in Parnell under threat.
• Landowners seek permission to demolish it.
• Building owner wants to protect it.
• Building at centre of new rules in Unitary Plan.
