Owners of pre-1930 inner city Wellington homes planning major alterations or demolition of their properties could face extra costs and delays under a plan to protect the city's character.
Tuesday, July 12th 2005, 5:53AM
by The Landlord
New planning rules proposed by Wellington City Council would require owners of older homes in Newtown, Berhampore and Mt Cook to obtain a resource consent to do the work, potentially delaying projects and adding thousands of dollars in costs.
Demolition or modification of these buildings is currently a permitted activity which can be done without resource consent hurdles.
The proposed district plan changes, announced at a council meeting yesterday, were unanimously approved and will now go out for public submissions.
They are designed to protect the unique residential character of the three suburbs and follow a period of public consultation which signalled a desire for more protection of the city's heritage buildings.
Similar restrictions already apply in Thorndon and Mt Victoria.
