The university has appealed a Dunedin City Council decision to give the Archway Lecture Theatres greater protection from demolition or modification without consent, despite opposition from the institution and a council planner.
Chief operating officer Jared Hayes yesterday said the university strongly believed the building did not meet the criteria for heritage listing.
The decision was "inconsistent" with expert advice and the university believed there was a strong case for an appeal.
Removing the building from the heritage schedule would allow the university to make the best use of its campus space, in step with long-term planning goals and educational needs, Mr Hayes said.
At hearings in May, university vice-chancellor Grant Robertson had asked a council hearing panel — commissioners Rob van Voorthuysen (chairman), Cr Sophie Barker and Cr Jim O’Malley — that the theatres not be protected.
Mr Robertson said since 2010 the university had considered demolishing the building — which represented the "poorest quality" of tiered lecture theatres on campus — possibly replacing it with a formal garden space.
Mr van Voorthuysen accepted the university’s evidence and recommended the building not be protected.
However, Crs Barker and O’Malley did not, saying the building’s architectural value was worthy of heritage protection. Their majority finding formed the panel’s decision.
The Archway Lecture Theatres were built in 1974, designed by notable Dunedin architect Ted McCoy, and won an Enduring Architecture award in 2020.
The council gave 129 buildings greater heritage protection in July, under changes to the district plan. It received three further appeals on the decision.
Dunedin homeowner Petrus Yen said his St Clair house, which had received protection, did not meet heritage criteria.
The heritage listing would result in a property value reduction of at least $250,000, according to an economic impact report commissioned by the council, Mr Yen said.
The costs and benefits were not fairly weighed and the heritage criteria was applied too broadly, he said.
Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora head of property Monique Fouwler said the heritage listing of the former Dunedin Hospital administration block could "unduly restrict" future development needed to keep the hospital campus fit for purpose.
The organisation wanted heritage protection removed — the potential costs of protecting the building outweighed the benefits of safeguarding its heritage features, she said.
The New Zealand Defence Force is appealing against heritage protection of the Kensington Drill Hall and Mobilisation Store and Office and former RNZNVR Divisional Headquarters but declined to comment, as the matter is before the Environment Court.
Council city development manager Dr Anna Johnson said people who had submitted on the subject being appealed or who had an interest greater than the general public had the opportunity to join an appeal.
Once appeals were lodged, a judge would typically refer the parties to mediation in an effort to resolve matters prior to a hearing, Dr Johnson said.
The council declined to comment on the substance of the appeals.
