Graeme Burgess and Lilli Knight of Burgess, Treep & Knight Architects, will talk on the houses of Remuera and their architectural history. Read more here.  

WHEN: Friday 20th July 2018 at 6.30pm 

WHERE: Remuera Library

Members free; $10 for non-members

Light refreshment available

Remuera Heritage and Parnell Heritage had a joint visit to 136 Grafton Road to learn about the history, heritage restoration and recent work done to the building.  Robin Byron of Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga led a large group through the 3 storeys of the now Church of Scientology building and its surrounds. 136 Grafton Road was built as the Methodist Theological College in 1929 after it was moved from Dunholme in Remuera. The restoration has won a gold award from the Registered Master Builders Association for Heritage/Restoration.

BASTILLE DAY IN REMUERA – July 14^th 2018

Come and help us celebrate Bastille Day in Remuera on July 14^th from 11am  to 2pm in the town centre. Remuera Heritage will have a table with information about the New Zealand War Memorial Museum project at Le Quesnoy in northern France where the New Zealand Rifles Brigade stormed the 18 metre high ramparts of the medieval town and liberated it from the Germans in 1918. Now New Zealand and France have started a project to build a war memorial museum there. Read more here - https://nzwmm.org.nz/

CHRIST CHURCH ELLERSLIE – ANTIQUES ROAD SHOW 21^st JULY 2018

Antiques Roadshow with Terry Sutcliffe & Greg Smith

WHEN: Saturday 21^st July at 7pm

WHERE: Christ Church, 169 Ladies Mile, Ellerslie

Entry: $25 Reserve a ticket Email office@ellerslieanglican.org.nz

Places are limited. All proceeds to the Christ Church Preservation Fund. Light refreshments provided at start of the evening.

ELLERSLIE RACE COURSE MAKEOVER

Ellerslie racecourse has demolished the old totalisator building, retaining only the "totaliser machine" and dividends board inside. The new race day stables will house 126 horses, a warm-up ring, veterinary boxes and an office, trainers’ cafe and function room. It expects to be open on October 27^th. Read more here.

MCLAREN GARAGE AT 586 – 592 REMUERA ROAD

The former Bruce McLaren Garage at 586 – 592 Remuera Rd has been sold again.  The new owner Brian Rose is retaining the current structure and is planning to live onsite. However, he is looking for a retail tenant for the old garage workshop on the ground floor. The floor is approx. 2,500 sq. ft. with a potential drive-thru facility at the front

NEW ZEALAND HERITAGE SURVEY

The Ministry for Culture and Heritage, with the support of the Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Rt. Hon Jacinda Ardern, is undertaking an assessment of New Zealand’s system for protecting heritage buildings. There is concern (which many of you share) that preventable and irreversible loss of heritage buildings is occurring in New Zealand.   Your views are sought on how heritage buildings are recognised and protected, and how our protection system may be improved. This may have a long term impact on heritage protection and is a real opportunity for you to have a say.

Visit RemueraHeritage.org.nz for more information about Remuera Heritage and the heritage and history of Remuera, including places, people, including WW1 profiles and events. See our Facebook page also https://www.facebook.com/remueraheritage/

Come and help us celebrate Bastille Day in Remuera on July 14th from 11am to 2pm in the town centre. 

Remuera Heritage will have a table with information about the New Zealand War Memorial Museum project at Le Quesnoy in northern France where the New Zealand Rifles Brigade stormed the 18metre high ramparts of the medieval town and liberated it from the Germans in 1918. 

Now New Zealand and France have started a project to build a war memorial museum there. 

The goal is to establish the first permanent New Zealand War Memorial Museum in the town of Le Quesnoy, France. The museum will exhibit interactive and precious historic collections, focusing on New Zealand’s military involvement in Europe and our significant contributions in both World Wars: - a way of telling New Zealand soldiers’ stories. An integral part of the experience will provide resources to allow research into the location of New Zealand soldiers’ graves.

Read more here. 

Remuera Heritage and Parnell Heritage are having a joint visit to 136 Grafton Road to learn about the history, heritage restoration and recent work done to the building and some of the decisions made on its adaptive reuse.  136 Grafton Road was the Methodist Theological College after it was moved from Dunholme in Remuera. Today it is the Church of Scientology. Robin Byron, Conservation Architect at Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga, will be our guide for the evening.

WHEN: Thursday 14^th June 2018 at 7pm

WHERE: 136 Grafton Road, Grafton

PARKING: There is onsite parking off Carlton Gore Road – use the first driveway on the left. There is a drive beside the chapel to come inside.

RSVP TO events@remueraheritage.org.nz  or to the Remuera Library. There will be a $10 charge for non-members.

Sunday 6th May 2018, 10am — Autumn Guided Walk - Maungakiekie the Volcano with Bruce Hayward Learn and discover at Cornwall Park this May with our Autumn Guided Walks series. 

Expert guides will share their knowledge of Cornwall Park each Sunday in May. Get in quick to reserve your spot! 

On Sunday 6th join Bruce Hayward on his Volcano Walk. This guided walk will take you around the crater, to the top and then back again. On this journey you will learn that Cornwall Park is only the centre of the volcano that stretches all the way from Newmarket to Onehunga as well as details of the eruption, the craters and much more! Registration is essential and numbers are limited. 

To register please email info@cornwallpark.co.nz with the name of the walk you would like to do, your name and phone number and how many people you would like to register for. A reasonable level of fitness is required. Please dress for the weather conditions, wear sturdy shoes and bring a drink bottle with you. 

When: Friday 4th May 2018 at 6.15 for 6.30pm. 

Where: Remuera Library, 429 Remuera Road. 

There will be a talk by Rob Allen, Professor of Social History, Te Ara Poutama Faculty Office, Auckland University of Technology on "The Social History of heritage and historical societies". Professor Allen spends his working life balancing a love of social history with overseeing the hierarchies of university management. He is passionate about social history of the late 19th century which saw him help save historic Red House, home to British socialist, poet and designer William Morris.

Light refreshments will be served.

Anzac Day is a time to reflect on the servicemen and servicewomen, past and present, who have displayed courage and self-sacrifice serving our country. 

College Rifles Remuera Parade and Service Parade assembly: 8.45am on Minto Rd 

Parade commences: 9am Service: 

9.20am at College Rifles Rugby Clubrooms, 33 Haast St, Remuera 

Road closure details: Rolling road closure will be in place for the duration of the parade 

Contact: Keith Ratcliffe 021 399 779 

St Aidan's Church, corner Remuera Rd & Ascot Avenue, Remuera 9.30am  

A burial service has been held on 19 April 2018 at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s New Irish Farm Cemetery in Belgium for Captain Henry John Innes Walker, Royal Warwickshire Regiment and six unknown soldiers of the First World War. Captain Henry John Innes Walker, of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment, was 25 years old when he was killed in action on 25 April 1915, during the Second Battle of Ypres. He was found with a coin holder, binocular components and leather casing bearing the initials ‘HJIW’, plus a Royal Warwickshire Regiment cap badge and shoulder title, during a planned archaeological dig on the western side of the village of St Julien in April 2016. Multiple sets of remains were found during the dig, however despite extensive research it has proved possible to identify only him. 

The service was attended by members of Capt Walker’s family, who he is known to as Jack, including his great nephews, Allan and Alistair Innes-Walker, who travelled from New Zealand and Australia respectively. 

Read more here on the CWGC website and on the Remuera Heritage webpage for Jack Walker. 

Brian and Sue Cooper visited Steve King, Principal of Remuera Primary School, to return the 1923 Campaign document which had been conserved and framed by Remuera Heritage. The document dated 23 April 1923 was to raise funds to acquire the two and a half acres next to the school for a children’s park with equipment and the improvement of the school grounds. The land was going to be sold as sections. Today Platina Reserve is council owned. The framed document will hang in a new building being constructed as a resource centre at the school.

Remuera Heritage is submitting on Auckland Council's draft Ten Year Plan and also the Auckland Plan and we encourage all members to make their own submissions on both plans. Submissions are due by 8pm on 28 March. Get a copy of the paper Have Your say form from the Remuera library or go online to akhaveyoursay.co.nz 

10 Year Plan Budget / Long Term Plan 

 There is nothing included for Remuera in the 10 year plan or budget. 

1. Community facilities:  

a. Remuera needs a community centre to service its diverse community needs with a focus on the town centre and the library. There are only 2 community facilities in Remuera – the Remuera Library and 4 Victoria Avenue which houses the CAB and Plunket. There are no rooms available for hire at the current facility at 4 Victoria Avenue, the future of which is very uncertain. 

b. Remuera is a substantial size district with a diverse population of 28,000. It has a large long-established town centre. There is a need to service a large area with a growing diverse community, focused on the town centre 

c. Proceeds from any sale of Victoria Avenue should be reinvested in the Remuera community – in a Remuera community centre in the Remuera town centre. 

2. Village Green and buildings: It is unclear what is happening to the Village Green area at the back of the shops. The brick buildings were the original Remuera Roads Board office and works depot, and then Remuera’s first fire station. We would like to know about the redevelopment, intensification, any loss of heritage buildings and green space (the Village Green) – the Remuera community needs to be kept informed.

3. Ohinerau/Mt Hobson: Remuera Heritage supports the Tūpuna Maunga Authority’s proposed management plan and operational plan for Ohinerau Mt Hobson, focusing on upgraded paths and signage, pest control and regular vegetation management and maintenance. Also important for Remuera Heritage is the preservation of the memorials to the Remuera service men and women who served in WW2 – this includes the daffodils on the northern slope. 

4. Cultural Heritage: The 10 year plan budget also needs to include increased budget for key Auckland cultural heritage institutions – Auckland Museum, the Auckland Art Gallery, MOTAT and the Sir George Grey Special Collections at Auckland Libraries. They all have urgent need for improved infrastructure to meet visitor needs and protection of collections over the next 10 to 20 years. 

In particular, all Auckland Councillors must support Mayor Phil Goff's proposal of the 1 February 2018 to increase the Auckland Art Gallery's funding by $20m over the next ten years as part of the LTP. We request this amount is targeted for the Auckland Art Gallery when the annual Auckland Council distribution is made to Regional Facilities Auckland. 

Auckland Plan 2020-2050 

Remuera Heritage is submitting on the draft Auckland Plan and we encourage all members to make their own submission. Submissions are due by 8pm on 28 March. 

Our main concern is that the draft plan does not have a chapter on historic heritage or arts and culture, including cultural heritage. The previous Auckland Plan’s chapter 4 consists of 14 pages about the importance of the city’s historic heritage and the need to protect it. 

Page 8 of this chapter states: “On behalf of the community, the Auckland Council will continue to develop initiatives to ensure innovation, good practice and improved heritage outcomes.” It is important to submit that the chapter on historic heritage be put back into the plan. You can also ask that Focus Area 4 be amended to “Protect Auckland’s significant environments, cultural and historic heritage from further loss” and that Outcome 5 be amended to “Environment, Cultural and Historic Heritage.” 

Also ask for a reinstatement of the previous plan’s definition in the glossary of cultural heritage as: “The legacy of tangible heritage resources and intangible attributes that are inherited from past generations. Heritage includes historic heritage, taonga tuku iho (heirlooms), and other forms of heritage such as books, works of art, artefacts, beliefs, traditions, language and knowledge”.

Remuera Heritage is submitting on Auckland Council's draft Ten Year Plan and also the Auckland Plan and we encourage all members to make their own submissions on both plans. Submissions are due by 8pm on 28 March. Get a copy of the paper Have Your say form from the Remuera library or go online to akhaveyoursay.co.nz 

10 Year Plan Budget / Long Term Plan 

 There is nothing included for Remuera in the 10 year plan or budget. 

1. Community facilities:  

a. Remuera needs a community centre to service its diverse community needs with a focus on the town centre and the library. There are only 2 community facilities in Remuera – the Remuera Library and 4 Victoria Avenue which houses the CAB and Plunket. There are no rooms available for hire at the current facility at 4 Victoria Avenue, the future of which is very uncertain. 

b. Remuera is a substantial size district with a diverse population of 28,000. It has a large long-established town centre. There is a need to service a large area with a growing diverse community, focused on the town centre 

c. Proceeds from any sale of Victoria Avenue should be reinvested in the Remuera community – in a Remuera community centre in the Remuera town centre. 

2. Village Green and buildings: It is unclear what is happening to the Village Green area at the back of the shops. The brick buildings were the original Remuera Roads Board office and works depot, and then Remuera’s first fire station. We would like to know about the redevelopment, intensification, any loss of heritage buildings and green space (the Village Green) – the Remuera community needs to be kept informed.

3. Ohinerau/Mt Hobson: Remuera Heritage supports the Tūpuna Maunga Authority’s proposed management plan and operational plan for Ohinerau Mt Hobson, focusing on upgraded paths and signage, pest control and regular vegetation management and maintenance. Also important for Remuera Heritage is the preservation of the memorials to the Remuera service men and women who served in WW2 – this includes the daffodils on the northern slope. 

4. Cultural Heritage: The 10 year plan budget also needs to include increased budget for key Auckland cultural heritage institutions – Auckland Museum, the Auckland Art Gallery, MOTAT and the Sir George Grey Special Collections at Auckland Libraries. They all have urgent need for improved infrastructure to meet visitor needs and protection of collections over the next 10 to 20 years. 

In particular, all Auckland Councillors must support Mayor Phil Goff's proposal of the 1 February 2018 to increase the Auckland Art Gallery's funding by $20m over the next ten years as part of the LTP. We request this amount is targeted for the Auckland Art Gallery when the annual Auckland Council distribution is made to Regional Facilities Auckland. 

Auckland Plan 2020-2050 

Remuera Heritage is submitting on the draft Auckland Plan and we encourage all members to make their own submission. Submissions are due by 8pm on 28 March. 

Our main concern is that the draft plan does not have a chapter on historic heritage or arts and culture, including cultural heritage. The previous Auckland Plan’s chapter 4 consists of 14 pages about the importance of the city’s historic heritage and the need to protect it. 

Page 8 of this chapter states: “On behalf of the community, the Auckland Council will continue to develop initiatives to ensure innovation, good practice and improved heritage outcomes.” It is important to submit that the chapter on historic heritage be put back into the plan. You can also ask that Focus Area 4 be amended to “Protect Auckland’s significant environments, cultural and historic heritage from further loss” and that Outcome 5 be amended to “Environment, Cultural and Historic Heritage.” 

Also ask for a reinstatement of the previous plan’s definition in the glossary of cultural heritage as: “The legacy of tangible heritage resources and intangible attributes that are inherited from past generations. Heritage includes historic heritage, taonga tuku iho (heirlooms), and other forms of heritage such as books, works of art, artefacts, beliefs, traditions, language and knowledge”.

Community Meeting on 22 March: “Have Your Say” 

Remuera Residents Association Community Meeting: “Have Your Say” 

 When: 7.00pm, Thursday 22 March 

 Where: Remuera Library  

The meeting will traverse the issues raised by the content of Auckland Council’s proposed 10 year Budget and the draft Auckland Plan 2050. All residents will have received the feedback form (within the March Our Auckland monthly magazine) which needs to completed by 28 March. There are many issues that are of concern and worthy of discussion. 

Ask questions of your Local Board member, hear the opinions of fellow residents, and form your own views based on this interaction. The real issues will be highlighted for you to consider, including the future of 4 Victoria Avenue and why there is little mention of historic heritage in the Auckland Plan– the evening should greatly assist your expression of feedback to the Council at this important consultation opportunity. 

We suggest you bring the feedback form with you – if you have not already submitted it. Have your say. For further information call – 524 2602

You can read the Remuera Heritage submission here.

Remuera Eastern Bays Citizens Advice Bureau: Public Information Evening 

Public Information Evening: Trees, Fences, and Boundaries 

When: 6.30pm, Tuesday 20 March 

Where: Remuera Library 

 ALL WELCOME.

TEN YEAR PLAN BUDGET– Remuera issues

The Mayor has a goal that Auckland is a great place to live. “While our focus must necessarily be on creating the infrastructure needed for transport accessibility and housing and a clean environment, we will not overlook other things that make this region a desirable place to live. Within the constraints of our resources, we need to promote the innovation, diversity, inclusiveness, cultural and recreational facilities that make Auckland a great place.” 

1. Community facilities: Remuera is a substantial district and town centre with a large population of approx. 28,000 in 2018, (57% European, 38% Asian, 2% Maori, 2% Pacific). Many of the shops in the town centre go back 100 years but the town centre is changing and needs a community centre and heart. 45% of Remuera South people were born overseas, compared with 39.1 percent for Auckland as a whole. Remuera needs a community centre to service its diverse community needs with a focus on the town centre and the library. Often the Remuera library staff are asked if they have space for hire. When a public meeting is held in the Remuera library, the staff have to return at 8 or 9pm at night to lock up. Community groups in Remuera are forced to go outside the area to meet as halls in churches and schools in Remuera are busy during the days and often lack access and security at night.  

There is a lack of transparency around the future of 4 Victoria Avenue, which houses the CAB and Plunket. The CAB may be moving to St Luke’s Church near Newmarket. There is speculation that the council will sell 4 Victoria Avenue and put the money into the rebuild of the Meadowbank Community Centre. Unlike Meadowbank which has 2 community facilities for hire – the Meadowbank Community Centre and Tahapa Crescent Hall, Remuera has only 2 community facilities, the Remuera Library and 4 Victoria Avenue. which have no rooms available for hire.

The council may seek to develop the Meadowbank Community Centre from the sale of 4 Victoria Avenue, but there will be a loss and a cost to the Remuera ratepayer. If the council sells 4 Victoria Avenue, the proceeds should be reinvested in the Remuera community in the form of a Remuera community centre near the library. Remuera Heritage is looking for a space to own or rent and to be able to display its resources – we would support a local community centre. We ask that any funds from a sale of 4 Victoria Avenue be targeted for the benefit of the Remuera community – in Remuera. 

The Orakei Local Board has also looked at the redevelopment of the Glendowie Community Centre – this is only 2 kms from the St Heliers Community Centre. The Meadowbank Community Centre is 2.9 kms from 4 Victoria Avenue – Remuera is large enough to deserve its own community centre.  Panmure will also benefit from a multi-million investment from the sale of $100million+ worth of council property in Panmure.(East & Bays Courier, March 6 2018)

NB: The population figures given in the Meadowbank, Remuera, Orakei Community Needs Assessment (Mobius, 20 July 2017) are not geographically exact and grossly underrepresent the population of Remuera. The segments used of Remuera West and Remuera South from the 2013 Census do not even share a common boundary. If all Remuera segments are used (Remuera West, Remuera South, Waiata, Waitaramoa, Mt Hobson, Orakei South, Abbotts Park), Remuera’s population is 2.1 times the population of Meadowbank South and Meadowbank North. If St John’s and Stonefields are included in the Meadowbank calculation, then Remuera’s population is approx. 1.5 times the population of Meadowbank. Either way, Remuera has by far the bigger population than Meadowbank. (See attached table). 

2. Council carpark: It is also unclear what is happening to the council carpark on Clonbern Rd. Rumours abound of redevelopment, intensification, loss of heritage buildings, loss of green space (the Village Green) – the Remuera community needs to be kept informed. 

3. Ohinerau/Mt Hobson: Remuera Heritage supports the Tupuna Maunga Authority’s proposed management plan and operational plan for Ohinerau Mt Hobson, focusing on upgraded paths and signage, pest control and regular vegetation management and maintenance. Also important for Remuera Heritage is the preservation of the memorials to the Remuera service men and women who served in WW2 – this includes the daffodils on the northern slope. 

4. Cultural Heritage: The 10 year plan budget also needs to include increased budget for key Auckland cultural heritage institutions – Auckland Museum, the Auckland Art Gallery, MOTAT and the Sir George Grey Special Collections at Auckland Libraries. They all have urgent need for improved infrastructure to meet visitor needs and protection of collections over the next 10 to 20 years. In particular, all Auckland Councillors must support Mayor Phil Goff's proposal of the 1 February 2018 to increase the Auckland Art Gallery's funding by $20m over the next ten years as part of the LTP. We request this amount is targeted for the Auckland Art Gallery when the annual Auckland Council distribution is made to Regional Facilities Auckland. 

AUCKLAND PLAN 2020 – 2050 

1. The Draft Auckland Plan only talks about environmental and cultural heritage as types of heritage, and a definition of cultural heritage includes no recognition of built heritage at all. Cultural heritage appears to be a subset of the environment and is confined to archaeological landscapes – it is not mentioned in the glossary. Rather cultural heritage should be the over-arching category, not a sub-category. The 2012 Auckland Plan included this definition of Heritage in the glossary: a. “The legacy of tangible heritage resources and intangible attributes that are inherited from past generations. Heritage includes historic heritage, taonga tuku iho (heirlooms), and other forms of heritage such as books, works of art, artefacts, beliefs, traditions, language and knowledge”.  

2. The first Auckland Plan released in 2012 had an entire chapter 4 outlining the importance and value of historic heritage, with strategic direction statements, key priorities and targets to “protect and conserve Auckland’s historic heritage for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations”. This 2012 text should be incorporated into Outcome 5: Protecting and Enhancing our Environment, in the Auckland Plan 2050. Text in this outcome must include a definite statement about the importance and value of historic heritage, and specifically that it is included in Focus Area 4, to read “Protect Auckland’s significant environments, and cultural and historic heritage from further loss”. 

3. The first Auckland Plan also had an entire Chapter 3 on Arts and Culture which is now missing. There should be a section in the new draft plan outcome Environment and Cultural Heritage on cultural heritage, which includes the regionally and nationally significant cultural institutions such as the Auckland Museum, MOTAT, Auckland Art Gallery, and Sir George Grey Special Collections, amongst others. The draft plan mentions only “Local and Auckland-wide” community facilities. To omit and exclude the regionally and nationally important cultural heritage organisations in Auckland is a huge oversight.

Population Projections 2013-2043 for Remuera and Meadowbank. Source Stats NZ Census 2013.

The Remuera Residents Association has reported that the Orakei Local Board is proposing that the Remuera CAB move out of 4 Victoria Avenue to the St Luke's Community Centre at 130 Remuera Road. 

 http://remueraresidents.org.nz/latest-news/remuera-citizens-advice-bureau-at-risk/ -

"The Ōrākei Local Board is considering moving the 4 Victoria Avenue CAB to St Lukes Community Centre. Concern has been expressed that no consultation has been undertaken with our local CAB or community, that work has already been undertaken on the site, and that long term decisions on the future of the service have already been made.The CAB is an important community resource and we are very disturbed at the lack of transparency about the future of our CAB and the 4 Victoria Avenue site. We want clarity and honesty around this matter from our local board."  

Remuera has only two community facilities - the Remuera Library and 4 Victoria Avenue which houses the CAB and Plunket. Is the Orakei Local Board and Auckland Council selling our community facility?
There will be a public meeting on 22nd March 2018 at the Remuera Library to discuss this and what is happening at 4 Victoria Avenue. 

The RRA now has a Facebook page – get the latest news etc here:

https://www.facebook.com/remueraresidentsassociation/

The eastern suburbs have seen significant removal of the single house zone to be replaced with the increased density of the Mixed House Suburban or Urban zones. This will lead to the development of individual properties being intensified to 3 stories, alongside single houses, destroying the collective value and amenity of the area which the community has strived to protect for future enjoyment. Urban amenity has to be collective – individual owners cannot do both high density and still expect to retain the existing character and amenity. 

The Independent Hearing Panel wrote “there was an insufficient basis to restrict the demolition of buildings based solely on their age. The argument that the unitary plan should, on an alleged precautionary basis, manage the demolition of buildings in areas that may have ‘unidentified significant historic heritage places or unidentified ‘special’ character areas’ was not supported by evidence of the likelihood that such values would be identified, or that the rate of demolition required such a restriction”. 

During the Unitary Plan process, Auckland Council said it was not resourced to carry out character area surveys to identify significant historic heritage places or unidentified ‘special’ character areas’ but would cooperate with community groups to do this. Remuera Heritage offered its help to the Heritage Dept. and through Councillor Cameron Brewer but we never heard back. Council staff had countered to the IHP that a plan change to add or extend character areas should be ready for notification in early 2017. RH gave evidence of the removal of character buildings from Remuera South, parts of Remuera north and Newmarket to no avail. 

As a result, The Panel has kept most of the currently notified special character overlay over Auckland, with one notable exception – it has been almost erased throughout all the eastern bays, including Remuera, Orakei, Kohimarama, Mission Bay and St Heliers. The pre-1944 demolition control overlay has been removed in its entirety and there is now no protection for any identified or non-identified character buildings in Auckland. The pre-1944 overlay was only an interim measure to allow for the identification of character housing, so now demolition is a permitted activity. 

AT RISK: The Remuera Library which is a listed and protected heritage building has now been zoned as being part of the town business centre and buildings either side have been upzoned to THAB (Terrace Houses and Apartment Buildings). This includes Cotter House, another listed heritage building (the 5th oldest house in Auckland) and the Hearing Association house at the top of St Vincent Avenue. This zoning change does not help the protection of these historic heritage places. It is impossible to understand why there is such a lack of consistency here in having Category A status for a brick public building such as a library and a historic heritage house when the underlying zoning anticipates high density. Houses such as Cotter House are now at significant risk of demolition and redevelopment. 

Gains in Remuera have been the inclusion of the Extent of Place around the Chapel of the Holy Child (formerly the stables) at Kings School to include The Towers, the 1855 Graham/ McCosh Clark house. The Remuera Railway Station has been upgraded from Category B to A: “Given its integrity, it’s now rarity, having an integral and original relationship with its signal box, and being the best of Auckland‘s historic suburban stations, it warrants elevation from a B to A in its heritage categorisation. Accordingly, the Panel supports the scheduling of the ‘Remuera Railway Station and Signal Box’ as Category A and adopts the extent of place and description proposed by Heritage New Zealand.” 

The volcanic viewshafts fared better than heritage. Most (though not all) proposed viewshafts have been retained; a few have been deleted, and there is a new category of locally significant viewshafts. One of the differences between regional and local is that if a proposed building would penetrate a regional viewshaft it is a non-complying activity, whereas for a local viewshaft it is a Restricted Discretionary activity. The Panel has provided the Council with maps which represent its recommendations. 

To view what these recommendations may mean for Remuera and your own property, click here and here.

Graeme Burgess and Lilli Knight of Burgess, Treep & Knight Architects, will talk on the houses of Remuera and their architectural history. Read more here.  

WHEN: Friday 20th July 2018 at 6.30pm 

WHERE: Remuera Library

Members free; $10 for non-members

Light refreshment available

Come and help us celebrate Bastille Day in Remuera on July 14th from 11am to 2pm in the town centre. 

Remuera Heritage will have a table with information about the New Zealand War Memorial Museum project at Le Quesnoy in northern France where the New Zealand Rifles Brigade stormed the 18metre high ramparts of the medieval town and liberated it from the Germans in 1918. 

Now New Zealand and France have started a project to build a war memorial museum there. 

The goal is to establish the first permanent New Zealand War Memorial Museum in the town of Le Quesnoy, France. The museum will exhibit interactive and precious historic collections, focusing on New Zealand’s military involvement in Europe and our significant contributions in both World Wars: - a way of telling New Zealand soldiers’ stories. An integral part of the experience will provide resources to allow research into the location of New Zealand soldiers’ graves.

Read more here.