Opinion: Hamilton plan change acknowledges the city's heritage is living and continually evolving

A critical aspect of Plan Change 9 is its emphasis on archaeology and cultural sites. The number of these is set to double, largely along Waikato Te Awa. Photo / Supplied

OPINION

Hamilton City Council has set out an ambitious response to big questions – what counts for heritage in the "City of the Future," and what is its place in a time of major urban change?

Plan Change 9 seeks to expand and strengthen planning rules that protect heritage in Kirikiriroa Hamilton. Starting off in 2019 as a relatively modest proposal to address main street character and support Māori heritage, the project has expanded to cover heritage buildings and areas, notable trees, and places with significant ecological value. Getting to grips with the detail of Plan Change 9 is not for the faint-hearted.

The massive end product is only one-half of the council's response to the Government's recent directives on urban intensification. It sits alongside, and rather awkwardly runs ahead of, Plan Change 12 – which sets new rules to enable higher density housing across the city.

A critical aspect of Plan Change 9 is its emphasis on archaeology and cultural sites. The number of these is set to double, with more than 100 sites spread north to south, largely along Waikato Te Awa. When viewed as part of broader projects – including the council's ongoing collaboration with mana whenua on places of significance to Māori and the NZ History in Schools programme – Plan Change 9's coverage bodes well for real recognition of Kirikiriroa's multi-layered histories.

Plan Change 9 also presents a big step change in terms of natural heritage. Land recognised for its ecological significance has more than tripled, recognising the unique environments of Kirikiriroa's unusual gully network and indigenous biodiversity along the awa.

Carolyn Hill provides heritage advice to policy-makers, developers, design teams and other consultancies. Photo / Supplied

Protected trees have also tripled, with all additions being on public land – mostly in inner, older parts of the city. The value of large trees in urban landscapes are many and are significant – and as private gardens make way for more intensive development, a well-treed public realm will become increasingly essential to community wellbeing.

But notable trees are 50+ years in the growing, and they are noticeably absent from large swathes of the city. Powerlines should not control this decision: A robust long-term plan for new large-specimen planting will be a powerful legacy for future spatial equity and natural heritage.

Plan Change 9 sees a significant rise in individually protected heritage buildings too, with 182 properties added to the current 122. They cover a wide range of architectural types, from familiar public buildings to houses in an assortment of 20th-century styles. Not all of them will be popular and some may be contested, but together they contribute to an understanding and appreciation of Hamilton's eclectic and certainly interesting architectural story.

Lastly, the council has introduced Historic Heritage Areas (HHAs). These areas cover parts of the city previously identified under special character zones, and also add to them. The existing character-zoned areas have been refined and in some cases reduced, and proposed new areas, which are generally smaller, extend across the city.

The fact that Plan Change 9 uses the words "historic heritage" instead of "special character" may seem subtle, but is very important. Recent changes to the RMA require councils to apply new Medium Density Residential Standards to residential zones unless any "qualifying matters" apply. Historic heritage is one such qualifying matter, meaning that more intensive urban development can be limited in these areas.

It is also interesting that the council has explored historic heritage values beyond the usual pre-1940 cut-off that usually applies to historic areas. This brings assessment into the years which have unique significance for Hamilton's emergence as a city – the State-led construction in the 1950s, the 1960s boom, the 1970s architectural trends. Heritage is living and continually evolving and this is acknowledged here.

On River Rd, overlooking Waikato Te Awa and hidden behind the historic houses of Claudelands, is Miropiko Pā, a fortified settlement strategically abandoned by Ngāti Hanui in the face of colonial invasion.

Along Peachgrove Rd is a completely unnoticeable brass plaque that commemorates a Māori peach orchard after which the street is named. These are places and pasts which I, a Pākeha born here in Kirikiriroa, know little. But I deeply hope that my tamariki will know more.

Along with the awa itself, these deep histories form the backbone of this city, the preface that gives context and shape to our existing urban environment. This needs continual and collective foregrounding, and Plan Change 9 is a step on this path.

● Carolyn Hill is a consultant in historic heritage management and conservation, with experience across public and private sectors in Aotearoa, Australia and the UK. Carolyn's work seeks to place architecture within its cultural context, with built form being part of broader urban form and life. Under her practice Lifescapes, Carolyn provides heritage advice to policy-makers, developers, design teams and other consultancies. She is also a teaching fellow in environmental planning at Te Kura Aronui School of Social Sciences at the University of Waikato.