INTRODUCTION OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES
T
he character of many of New Zealand’s small towns and cities is strongly defined by their heritage buildings and old building stock. Compared with the larger towns and cities, slower growth in these places has seen fewer older buildings being demolished and fewer new buildings developed, meaning older buildings make up a higher proportion of the overall building stock. These buildings give these towns and cities their unique identities. They are familiar to and often well loved by their local communities, both for their architectural beauty and for the stories they tell about local places. They have often been important sites of commerce, industry, worship or residence for many years. Their retention, reuse and preservation result in substantial benefits for many of these towns and cities, when their potential can be unlocked. As part of comprehensive, coordinated and collaborative efforts, they can become drivers of broader positive change in these places. While these buildings may impart a unique character to small towns and cities, in contemporary New Zealand there are a growing number of challenges to their long-term utility and survival. These challenges affect not only individual owners and businesses, but also councils and the communities more generally. One of the key challenges relates to changing regulatory requirements, particularly around the need for earthquake-strengthening and also the fire and accessibility upgrades that may be triggered independently or as a result of
6
earthquake-strengthening work. The Government’s legislative changes following the Canterbury earthquakes have led to shorter timeframes to earthquake-strengthen buildings in high-risk seismic zones. In many small towns and cities, the costs of these upgrades in comparison to the potential future economic returns of the buildings will be difficult to reconcile. This increases the risk that many buildings will simply be demolished, many heritage buildings lost, and unique heritage areas, towns and cities irreversibly changed. The repercussions of this challenge reach further than just the loss of heritage buildings. It also affects the integrity, viability and vibrancy of the places themselves, especially where buildings are left unmaintained or deteriorating or are demolished. With new buildings generally being far more expensive to lease than older ones, or where it is simply not financially viable to replace buildings at all, a proliferation of vacant sites can result.
SAVING THE TOWN
