Jacinda Ardern
List MP based in Auckland Central
Arts, Culture and Heritage Spokesperson
MEDIA STATEMENT
28 July 2016
Council must build on heritage, not destroy it
Auckland Council must move to ensure there are heritage protections in place following recommendations that demolition
restrictions be tossed out, Labour’s Arts, Culture and Heritage spokesperson Jacinda Ardern says.
The panel considering the Unitary Plan has recommended removing partial protections for neighbourhoods with houses built
before 1944.
“This character overlay was a response to a very real problem – the loss of special character buildings. That need
hasn't suddenly disappeared.
“Certainly we need to ensure we build both up and out in order to meet the huge demand for housing, but there are ways
to do that without losing the character of our communities.
“Our heritage should not be an either/or. We’re a young country when it comes to built heritage and we should be doing
everything we can to preserve what we have.
“The Council now needs to work with urgency to ensure a solution that safeguards heritage in our communities so that
it’s not permanently lost,” Jacinda Ardern says.
ends