Fate of art deco houses to be decided today

Protestors rejoice after demolition of three art deco cottages in St Heliers is held off. Photo / Sarah Ivey

The fate of three much-loved art deco houses in a seaside Auckland suburb is expected to be decided in court today.

Heritage advocacy group Save Our St Heliers is seeking an enforcement order to stop the demolition of the Spanish mission-style houses on Turua St, St Heliers, after a last-minute interim order was made last week.

The group's lawyer, David Kirkpatrick, argued in the Environment Court today that consent to demolish the buildings was granted by the former Auckland City Council without considering previous reports on the buildings which pertained to their heritage value.

"The council knew or should have known that the removal of the houses was of great concern because of their heritage value," he said.

Mr Kirkpatrick also pointed out the buildings' heritage values, which were significant to the character of St Heliers, and argued that their demolition would be offensive and objectionable to the community.

Should the enforcement order be granted, it would indefinitely prevent their demolition but would still be subject to further court orders.

Lawyers for developer Mike Markham have just started presenting their submissions.

- NZPA