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A rundown Tudor-style house in Hastings with previous heritage value is up for grabs for no cost at all - in fact, property developers are willing to pay for it to be taken away.
The two-storey villa at 711 Southland Rd was built in 1910 and previously had heritage status.
But developers say it has since lost its charm and needs significant work. They are now applying for a resource consent from Hastings District Council to subdivide the section it sits on to create 10 two-bedroom residential units and a shared access area.
The 10 units will be four detached units and six duplex units.
TW Property will develop the property for the owner, NZ Housing Group Raureka Ltd, which purchased the property for $1.86 million in June last year.
That proposition has created pushback in the community, with an online petition to save it from demolition and reinstate its heritage status garnering just over 500 signatures as of Monday.
The house on Southland Rd in Hastings, which is being given away for free by developers. Photo / Warren Buckland
Simon Tremain, a director of TW Property, said he was happy to give the house away to anyone willing and able to remove and renovate it, if the subdivision and development were given the green light.
He said TW Property would even put $50,000 towards the cost of removal as that is what it would cost to remove the house anyway.
“The house is in no condition to be retained in its current form,” Tremain said.
Concept art of the 10 two-bedroom houses planned to go where 711 Southland Rd currently stands if Hastings District Council grants resource consent. Image / Supplied
A Hastings District Council spokesperson said the villa was once on the Heritage NZ Register and listed as a heritage item in the council’s district plan.
But in 2013 it was deregistered from the Heritage NZ register because there was insufficient information to keep it on the list.
It was then removed as a heritage item in the Hastings District Council’s district plan after a request from the property owner at the time.
The resource consent application for the development was received by Hastings District Council on March 14 and is still in the early stages of being assessed, according to a council spokesperson.
“The council has requested further information to understand the effects of the activity,” the spokesperson said.
“Following receipt of this information there will be an assessment made as to the extent of the adverse effects on the wider environment and whether any persons are adversely affected.”
Whether the public will be able to make submissions to the council about the application will be decided after the assessment process.
A site investigation of the property concluded there was a risk to human health at present after soil sampling found the site exceeds background concentrations of arsenic, lead and zinc.
The report from environmental consultants EAM NZ Ltd concluded that further investigation was needed, including a remediation action plan.
