Important heritage buildings in Dunedin could be lost if
proposed changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) are
confirmed, the Dunedin City Council says.
A 130-year-old former head office and a project to strengthen
a 104-year-old student hall of residence are the big winners
of Dunedin's annual heritage reuse awards this year.
Three brothers who own a collection of heritage buildings in
Dunedin's warehouse precinct say the area risks being
''destroyed'' by plans for a waterfront hotel.
The owners of the former St Patrick's Church School and Hall
in Lawrence, a distinctive, category 1 listed building, have
received a $60,000 grant to help with conservation work.
The owner of a Dunedin heritage building with more than a
century of history as an office block says being forced to
apply for resource consent to continue the tradition is
"frustrating".
It may be an unassuming building, but music academic Dr
Graeme Downes says to those who know its significance in
music circles, heritage recognition for Dunedin's Empire
Hotel is "a pretty amazing thing".
The owners of a historic Dunedin building damaged by a
suspicious fire more than three years ago have been awarded
nearly $30,000 to help pay for restoration work.
Dunedin's heritage stock has scored a rare win, with a
private owner, local government and the New Zealand Historic
Places Trust working together to save a historic building.
Concerns Port Chalmers heritage buildings are being damaged
by the shaking they receive when heavy vehicles pass through
the town's centre will be voiced, but when, to whom, and how,
is yet to be decided.
Dunedin city councillors yesterday threw their support behind
new initiatives designed to ease the financial burden on the
city's heritage bed and breakfast operators.
