Juliet Yates: Auckland needs high-quality inner-city development

COMMENT

We all want to save something. We all have ideas about what should be saved, and what, if anything, is worthwhile in new development.

The prime goal for heritage buildings is renovation or complete restoration, but the huge costs are seldom seen except for the great public buildings - the Town Hall, Art Gallery and the Civic.

A decision made long ago, when the then city fathers lifted the height restrictions on inner-city buildings, meant that preservation of old buildings was equivalent to development opportunities lost. There were many instances of a building no longer being needed for its original purpose, whether industry or warehousing activity. Once these buildings were no longer required in their present form, commercial reality often suggested demolition and redevelopment.

Nevertheless, more than 400 historic buildings have been protected in the schedule to the District Plan, and there are special rules and controls for conservation areas.

There is a valuable resource of older buildings, which must be considered in planning new developments nearby. Urban design principles require an analysis of the site and its context in relation to the streetscape and neighbouring buildings.

We all have memories of what we thought life was like when we were younger. Problems were simpler, issues were clearer, answers seemed easier to come by. But nostalgia does not justify turning a relatively young city, in a growing region, into a static city.

The building boom in the 1980s brought a great increase of commercial space, some of which has now been replaced by apartments. New employment opportunities need new purpose-built locations, and new skills.

Student loans and tertiary-education institutions were offered to an ever-increasing number of students.

Life in the city took on a new, younger look. Almost overnight, people were attracted back to live in the inner city, and there is an unsatisfied demand for apartments.

We must accept the challenge of regeneration in the city, and take an holistic approach to its future. This is practised with striking success overseas where there are many stunning examples of depressed areas, derelict docklands and abandoned industrial lands being redeveloped to good use.

One example came to light when I visited the former red-light back streets of London's Kings Cross. Here not only was the 400m-long terminal for the Eurostar Chunnel Link being built but the well-being of the communities was promoted through a great master plan, with central government funding easily accessible and available to ensure its completion.

The role of a developer in the past has been seen by the public as "take the money and run". Icons of the future are not built that way. Auckland needs investors who will be proud to put their names to high-quality work, and the city council is determined through its new strategies to aim at the highest-possible quality urban living.

Community consultation is essential in a changing world. Progress is not a matter of a decision by a council; it occurs when an organism is, itself, ready. The council must provide all the necessary information, and in partnership with communities look at the way forward.

A great step forward was made last year with the successful establishment of our urban design panel. This is supported both by the Property Council and the Institute of Architects, and reviews all the central area's proposed buildings.

The benefit of its advice and recommendations will be seen when the reviewed buildings are constructed.

A second major step will be taken this year with the start of consultation on an urban design code for the city. This is in addition to the urban design requirements already in place for some inner-city precincts, for Residential 8, and the work on centre plans and conservation areas.

Further work is being done as part of the "Auckland's CBD Into the Future" project. This is going to public consultation shortly to ensure the strategy and action plan reflect what Aucklanders want for their inner city.

It is not possible for things to stay the same, and tyrannies of the past cannot be allowed to dictate the future.

Auckland is not just home to many of us; it is the place we are proud to belong to, where we have spent our lives and have worked hard for better communities.

* Juliet Yates, the chairwoman of the Auckland City Council's city development committee, is responding to Peter Curson's view that downtown Auckland now resembles a devastated landscape.