The government has instructed Auckland Council to allow apartments of at least 15 storeys around three key train stations - Mt Eden, Kingsland and Morningside as well as Mt Albert & Baldwin Avenue stations, as the City Rail Link (CRL) nears completion. The Character Coalition spokesperson, Sally Hughes, spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss on RNZ Morning Report.

RNZ The Panel with Wallace Chapman 19 May 2025

Planners are in the firing line. In our biggest city this year, council planners have discouraged a large commercial building in a heritage area, opposed the rezoning of rural land for urban development and pushed developers to make design improvements to new apartments, including providing bigger living spaces.

Is this "insanity" - as Housing Minister Chris Bishop branded the rejection by independent planning commissioners of an 11-storey glass building on Karangahape Rd? Almost all planning consent applications are granted by councils. Where they are not, it's usually because planners are trying to deliver what voters want, namely, attractive, non-sprawling cities that haven't lost all their heritage and trees.

There is concern Auckland will lose what many would consider part of its soul. Heritage advocates say they are fearful the Government’s resource management reforms will lead to the further loss of the city’s kauri villas and bungalows.

Character Coalition chair Sally Hughes says she is convinced that Resource Management Act Reform Minister Chris Bishop wants to abolish “Special Character Areas” (SCA) in favour of high-density housing.

“If SCAs survive at all, they will be significantly reduced,” she said.

Auckland’s villas are part of its identity, much like the terraced houses in Melbourne and Sydney, the iconic Queenslander in Brisbane, or the California bungalow.

These character-filled suburbs of Auckland are something many comment on when visiting the City of Sails.

Nobody would disagree with Bishop that we need more housing – and we certainly need more affordable housing in Auckland.

Building along planned transport corridors, particularly with the City Rail Link (CRL) near opening, makes absolute sense.

Bishop has highlighted single-storey villas in Kingsland hindering high-density development once the CRL opens.

He said work is under way on addressing heritage and SCAs in the new Planning Act but expects councils to give greater consideration to the impact that character areas and heritage areas will have on private property rights.

But we should be careful to ensure architecture is not treated as insignificant when pursuing the goal of greater housing.

It is vital to a city’s fabric. It makes our homes, places of work and environments more than just practical shelter.

The best architecture influences how we live our lives, it can inspire people and define a society.

Heritage expert Allan Matson believed Bishop’s reforms are another step toward the death knell of heritage and argued it will be easier to delist properties with heritage protection.

The Coalition for More Homes disagrees, and in its view thinks Auckland Council has used SCAs too broadly.

Directives by the last Government to change the rules in the Auckland Unitary Plan to increase housing density led to a review of the SCAs, impacting nearly one in four of 21,000 homes.

The most impact was in St Marys Bay, Birkenhead, Epsom, Remuera, Parnell and Mt Albert.

“Auckland’s special character areas encompass a rare gem in global urbanism ... protected timber architecture from the 19th and 20th centuries unrivalled worldwide in scale and quality,” Hughes said.

We must find a balance to continue to develop our city but also protect what makes it special. Both are important.