These buildings in Princes St, Dunedin, are one step closer
to demolition. Photo by Peter Mcintosh.
A group of Dunedin buildings may be demolished after a
Dunedin City Council hearings committee indicated it was "of a
mind" to give approval to developers.
An interim decision on the Princes St buildings has been
criticised by heritage advocates.
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Poll: Should the historic Princes St buildings be
demolished
Christchurch developer Luke Dirkzwager has been told by one
councillor to go back to Christchurch and "desecrate that".
While the final decision on demolition of 372-392 Princes St
has not been made, an interim decision from a resource
consent hearings committee said it was "of a mind" to grant
consent if Mr Dirkzwager's company, Prista Apartments, came
up with a new design "more representative of the character of
the precinct".
Mr Dirkzwager has been seeking approval since 2008 to
demolish the buildings and replace them with 15 apartments,
with space for retailing on the ground floor.
The development is a non-complying activity under the
council's district plan, as the area is in a protected
townscape precinct.
It attracted strong opposition when first proposed, with 260
people signing a petition, and opposition from the New
Zealand Historic Places Trust.
Last year, the developer was asked by the committee of city
councillors, Colin Weatherall, Richard Walls and Fliss
Butcher, to come back with a new proposal, but its modernist
design has not been accepted.
An interim decision released yesterday requires the developer
to provide an alternative design by July 1.
A final decision on the consent, followed by an appeal
period, would follow, and until that time, no work could
start.
Cr Weatherall said the advice to come up with a design more
representative of the area's character was the only advice
the committee would give the developer.
Mr Dirkzwager could still come back with a design that kept
the facades, but during the hearings, Mr Dirkzwager argued
that was not economically viable.
The buildings are owned by Copthorne Holdings.
The New Zealand Companies Office lists its directors as Mr
Dirkzwager, and Dunedin men Kingsley Kung and Geoffrey Yee.
Mr Dirkzwager said yesterday he would return with a new
design, and "time would tell" if he could find something
acceptable.
Heritage advocate Elizabeth Kerr, who presented submissions
during the resource consent process, said the building was
supposed to have protection under the district plan.
It was too soon to consider whether to appeal the decision
before the Environment Court, she said.
Historic Places Trust Otago Southland area manager Owen
Graham said there was little to comment on until the final
decision, and the committee's reasons, was released.
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