11 hours ago
'Eyesore' Wellington flats to lose heritage status
The protected heritage status of the derelict Gordon Wilson Flats in Wellington will be scrapped through an amendment to the Resource Management Act (RMA) in the coming weeks.
The Gordon Wilson Flats were used as social housing until 2012, when a engineer's report deemed them unsafe.
They have been left vacant since.
However as they are listed as heritage protected in the Wellington City District Plan, it became nearly impossible for anyone to get a resource consent to demolish them or alter them.
RMA Reform and Housing Minister Chris Bishop said the building has become "more dangerous and more of an eyesore every year" that it has sat empty.
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"There has been attempt after attempt to deal with the Gordon Wilson Flats since 2012, all of which have failed. The Flats sit as an ugly scar on the Wellington skyline, emblematic of a failed planning system that prioritises preservation of heritage, no matter the economic cost."
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He said the Government had agreed to enable the demolition of the flats by amending the Resource Management (Consenting and Other System Changes) Amendment Bill.
"The amendment will remove the Flats' protected heritage status and will make its demolition a permitted activity under the RMA. This means the building can finally be demolished, without a resource consent.
"The Wellington City Council wants the Gordon Wilson flats demolished, the University (the current owner) wants them demolished, and the people of Wellington want them demolished too," Bishop said.
RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop announced the changes at today's Post-Cabinet press conference. (Source: 1News)
"The amendments will not apply to any other heritage-protected buildings around the country. The Gordon Wilson Flats have been singled out because the building is owned by a public institution – Victoria University – and because that owner, the council and the community all want it gone.
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"I know many Wellingtonians will be relieved to know the Gordon Wilson Flats' days of heritage protection are numbered, and that it is unlikely to mar our beautiful city's skyline for too much longer," Bishop said.
The Amendment Paper to the Resource Management (Consenting and Other System Changes) Amendment Bill will be introduced during the Bill's Committee of the Whole House stage, between its second and third readings. The Bill is expected to pass into law in the middle of 2025.
"The Bill also contains wider amendments to allow councils to de-list heritage buildings in their district plans faster and more easily. The wider issue of heritage protection is also being actively considered as part of the government's replacement legislation for the Resource Management Act, expected to be introduced later in the year."
Victoria University would still need demolition consent to start knocking them down.
