Support for Cultural Impact Assessments re-stated
Auckland Council has confirmed its support for the Cultural Impact Assessment (CIA) requirements in the Proposed
Auckland Unitary Plan.
Some amendments agreed by the Auckland Development Committee (24 March, 2015) will ensure the requirements only apply in
situations where there is the potential for a resource consent to have an adverse impact on the cultural values of
Auckland’s Mana Whenua.
“This will be the council’s position going into mediation with Aucklanders who have made submissions on this aspect of
the Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan,” said chief planning officer Dr Roger Blakeley. “The council remains open to
discussing the views of submitters and exploring ways of reaching a common ground.”
When the CIA requirements came into effect in September 2013, concerns were raised about the difficulty applicants might
have engaging directly with Mana Whenua to confirm whether or not a CIA is required, and if so, how one might be
prepared.
To address these concerns, the council set up a facilitation service in March last year which has dealt with almost 300
applications in that time. Of those, 36 resulted in Mana Whenua confirming a CIA is required. This is from a total of
over 10,000 resource consent applications in roughly the same period.
“The council has received a considerable amount of positive feedback about the CIA facilitation service and intends to
continue it into the foreseeable future,” Dr Blakeley added.
“Protecting Auckland’s rich cultural heritage is fundamentally important as our city grows. Maori cultural heritage is a
key component of this,” he said.
“The council’s Proposed Auckland Unitary Plan takes a step forward from the work a number of Auckland’s former councils
had undertaken in addressing this issue. The CIA requirements do not provide Mana Whenua with a ‘right of veto’ over
development in Auckland.
“They are a critical tool that ensures the council is in an informed position when it comes to assessing the impacts of
development on cultural heritage and the values held by Mana Whenua, but ultimately decisions still rest with the
council.”
Mediation on submissions starts next week, with the hearings scheduled in May.
Ends