What the Draft Intensification Plan Change means for Devonport
Spokesperson McRae
257 houses in Devonport will lose their Special Character Area protections in the proposed Replacement Plan Change. This is 10 percent of the dwellings in the area
They will be replaced by the Single House Zone.
The houses are in eight different areas of Devonport.
Why Is this Happening?
Central Government is forcing Auckland Council to either keep Plan Change 78 which allows for three dwellings of storeys almost everywhere in the city, or come up with a replacement plan change.
Housing Minister Chris Bishop has insisted council must create new areas for more intensification and is insisting they push the plan change through with great speed.
He wants to create enough housing capacity for 2 million dwellings in Auckland. There is already zoning capacity for 900,000.
Much higher apartment blocks are being proposed for around transport centres and main roads.
The council’s lead planner said ‘This is not the plan change we would have come up with – it is being imposed by Government legislation’.
The council has asked local boards and iwi for comment before making a decision on 24 September.
What About Devonport?
There was some confusion at first about what would happen in Devonport. Planning Chairperson Richard Hills reassured us Devonport would remain ‘largely unchanged’ and this was reported in the Devonport Flagstaff.
However, when a detailed map was released we saw that the same eight areas of Devonport zoned for housing intensification in Plan Change 78, remain highlighted in the new plan change. Now it is clear that these same areas will lose their Special Character Area protections and revert to Single House Zone.
Implications
This will mean that new houses or renovations can be built on these sites with no regard for their surroundings or being sympathetic to the heritage streetscape around them.
At present under the SCA any new dwellings need to have a built architectural form, scale, and setback that is compatible with the heritage values of the area.
If that no longer applies any sort of single house could be built - adobe block homes, steel and glass houses or white boxes.
Without the constraints of design regulations, these sites could become of even lesser quality than now.
The long-term effects will be a reduction of Devonport’s historic value and identity.
Where?
There are eight areas where clusters of homes will drop out of the SCA. They are: Part of King Edward Parade to the west of Church Street & sites behind the Masonic; part of Vauxhall Rd opposite the rugby grounds & Beaconsfield St; parts of Mozeley Ave; all of Ariho Terrace & northern side Empire Rd; parts of Oxford Terrace, Rata & Matai Street; parts of Wairoa Rd, Morrison Rd, Derby St, Cambria Rd, North Ave & Turnbull Rd; East Vauxhall Rd near Fort Takapuna; part of Stanley Point from Second Ave west.
These areas were selected for intensification when Council did a site-by-site survey in 2021/22 and divided Devonport into four ‘sub groups’ where it scored each house on its heritage merit. Our experts argue that dividing the suburb into these groups was arbitrary and Devonport should be assessed as a whole.
If it was, then Devonport would meet the Council’s own threshold of being a ‘high quality’ heritage area that should remain protected by the SCA overlay.
While these sites are to remain as Single House Zone they lose their character protections.
What Can You Do?
Devonport Heritage will make a submission to the plan calling for the entirety of Devonport’s Special Character Area to remain intact if the area’s full historic value is to be protected.
This will be backed up by heritage and planning experts.
There is no point having a Special Character Area if it’s eroded with unsympathetic new designs.
While some of the sites that drop out of the overlay may not be heritage houses their replacements could have an even worse impact on the area.
There will be a submission period where residents can oppose the changes and we will let you know when this is open.
In the meantime, anyone opposed to this Government enforced intensification process should email Auckland councilors and MPs and make these points:
The figure of two million more dwellings for Auckland is unrealistic and unnecessary
More time is needed for such a major change to the city
You oppose parts of the draft replacement plan
The whole of Devonport should remain in the Special Character Area
Qualifying Matters Built Heritage and Special Character Areas in Devonport-Takapuna.
The blue dotted areas in the map below have the Special Character Area and the cream ones are the Single House Zone.
Click here to view all the maps for Auckland