Protect Auckland's Character Homes and Environments

The Environment Court has recently ruled that houses in special character areas can be demolished without notification or any public input. If this judgment stands it sets a precedent and no house in any special character area in Auckland will be safe. The Character Coalition has lodged an appeal to the High Court to challenge this. We need funds to pay for a barrister to present our case to the Court.

Auckland’s special character areas are unique in the world. Joshua Howie, Masters in Architecture and Heritage Conservation, has looked at similar areas throughout the world and concluded:

‘We can say with confidence that Auckland is unrivalled in the scale and consistency of its areas of ornate timber colonial architecture, even when compared to Brisbane and Melbourne. Furthermore, this architecture and its streetscapes are in and of themselves endemic to Auckland, entirely unique globally, making Auckland’s Special Character Areas a taonga’.

If you love the beautiful old wooden villas and bungalows in Auckland’s older suburbs and want to help preserve this unique treasure, please donate to this cause.

See our website charactercoalition.org.nz/media for this and other stories.

Photo credit: Sylvie Whinray, NZ Herald