DRAFT HERITAGE BUILDINGS and PLACES RECOVERY PROGRAMME for GREATER CHRISTCHURCH Draft, Not Government Policy
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DRAFT HERITAGE BUILDINGS AND PLACES RECOVERY PROGRAMME FOR GREATER CHRISTCHURCH Draft, not government policy Christchurch Arts Centre. Conservation work under way. Source: Ross Becker 17 December 2013 D‐0511860 Heritage Recovery Programme – draft, not government policy Contents Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................. 3 Section One: What does the Heritage Recovery Programme deliver? .................................................. 5 Section Two: What has been happening? .............................................................................................. 8 Section Three: Heritage Recovery Projects .......................................................................................... 14 Project 1: Retaining heritage buildings and places .......................................................................... 16 Project 2: Determining the best methods of strengthening heritage buildings .............................. 19 Project 3: Reusing heritage fabric retrieved from heritage and character buildings ...................... 20 Project 4: Ensuring that District Plan regulation assists recovery ................................................... 22 Project 5: Identifying and restoring sites of significance to Ngāi Tahu ........................................... 23 Project 6: Retrieving archaeological information and artefacts ...................................................... 25 Project 7: Conserving artefacts recovered from archaeological sites ............................................. 27 Project 8: Keeping memory and awareness alive ............................................................................ 29 Appendices Appendix One: The partner agencies ............................................................................................. 31 Appendix Two: The history and heritage of greater Christchurch ................................................. 34 Appendix Three: The Canterbury Earthquake Heritage Buildings Fund ......................................... 40 Appendix Four: Statutory documents ............................................................................................. 41 This document is not government policy or the policy of any of the agencies that contributed to its development. It is a draft Recovery Programme prepared to seek feedback. 2 Heritage Recovery Programme – draft, not government policy Executive Summary In greater Christchurch, heritage agencies have been working together to assess and conserve heritage buildings and places since the first earthquake in September 2010. At the same time, they have prepared this draft Heritage Buildings and Places Recovery Programme (‘Heritage Recovery Programme’) to record the work that has been done, the work that is under way, and future initiatives. 1 The Heritage Recovery Programme sets out the major achievements to date (pages 8‐13) and eight heritage recovery projects, most of which are under way, to: 1 retain heritage buildings and places 2 determine the best methods of strengthening heritage buildings 3 reuse heritage fabric retrieved from heritage and character buildings 4 ensure that District Plan regulation assists recovery 5 identify and restore sites of significance to Ngāi Tahu 6 retrieve archaeological information and artefacts 7 conserve artefacts recovered from archaeological sites 8 keep memory and awareness alive. Scope The Heritage Recovery Programme responds to heritage issues across all of greater Christchurch, that is: the districts of the Christchurch City Council, the Selwyn District Council, and the Waimakariri District Council, and the coastal marine area adjacent to these districts. It is one of three programmes that guide the cultural recovery of greater Christchurch; the other two are the: Arts and Culture Recovery Programme2 Spaces, Place and People Plan for Sport and Recreation in greater Christchurch.3 How was the Heritage Recovery Programme developed? The Ministry for Culture and Heritage (MCH) prepared the Heritage Recovery Programme working with: the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority (CERA), Ngāi Tahu, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust (NZHPT), Christchurch City Council (CCC), Waimakariri District Council (WDC) and Selwyn District Council (SDC) (‘the partner agencies’). Appendix One provides information on the partner agencies. The Heritage Recovery Programme is based on a scoping paper, released in June 2012, which is available on MCH’s website.4 A wide range of heritage and property groups provided input into the scoping paper. MCH is now seeking feedback on the Heritage Recovery Programme. 1 Previously known as the ‘Heritage Buildings and Cultural Places Recovery Programme’. Work on this Programme commenced in September 2011, following the release of the draft Recovery Strategy for Greater Christchurch. 2 Previously known as the ‘Arts, Culture and Heritage Collections Recovery Programme’. 3 Previously known as the ‘Sport and Recreation Recovery Programme’. 3 Heritage Recovery Programme – draft, not government policy The partner agencies developed the Heritage Recovery Programme in accordance with CERA’s Recovery Strategy for Greater Christchurch (‘Recovery Strategy’), which in turn is implemented under the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Act 2011 (‘the CER Act’). It does not override the CER Act or any other statutory requirements. While the Heritage Recovery Programme is a non‐binding document, it sets out the basis on which the partner agencies will seek to achieve the heritage‐ related cultural goals set out in the Recovery Strategy. 4 http://www.mch.govt.nz/news‐events/news/heritage‐recovery‐programme 4 Heritage Recovery Programme – draft, not government policy Section One: What does the Heritage Recovery Programme deliver? Introduction Accounts of Canterbury’s heritage published before the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes often concentrate upon the richness of its built heritage, particularly Christchurch’s Gothic Revival architecture. The projects contained in the Heritage Recovery Programme reflect a determination to hold on to the region’s rich built heritage by retaining and strengthening heritage buildings, reusing heritage fabric and recording and interpreting ‘lost’ heritage. At the same time, the projects realise opportunities to better recognise and increase awareness of the depth and breadth of the region’s heritage traditions – particularly, sites associated with early Māori and European settlement. The Heritage Recovery Programme also recognises that there are unparalleled opportunities to design new buildings that future generations will regard as heritage, and to establish a distinctive city that incorporates new and old architecture in creative ways. There are significant challenges: considerable damage has occurred the costs of repairing and strengthening heritage buildings can be high there are difficulties securing insurance for heritage buildings the land beneath some heritage buildings is sub‐optimal the recovery needs to proceed as quickly as possible. The overall aim must be to ensure that heritage recovery is an integral part of the recovery of greater Christchurch, not a roadblock to this recovery. Objective Recognising the opportunities and challenges, the objective of the Heritage Recovery Programme is to achieve an appropriate balance between: retaining heritage buildings and places as an important part of greater Christchurch’s identity the need for wider earthquake recovery to proceed quickly and within available funding. Outcomes The following outcomes will be achieved to the extent possible within the time frames for the wider recovery and within available funding: 1 Heritage buildings and places contribute to a strong sense of identity, a quality urban environment, and tourism, which support the economic and cultural recovery of greater Christchurch. 2 Heritage agencies assist property owners where a collaborative approach can help to ensure heritage buildings are made safe and restored. 3 Heritage buildings and places are adapted to new uses, where appropriate, to ensure they have an ongoing function. 5 Heritage Recovery Programme – draft, not government policy 4 Heritage recovery recognises and celebrates Ngāi Tahu’s heritage. 5 Heritage materials are retrieved safely to enable their reuse, and a sample of Christchurch’s archaeological heritage is recovered through excavation and retained. What does the Heritage Recovery Programme cover? The Heritage Recovery Programme covers all land‐based heritage, including: heritage buildings, that is, buildings with recognised heritage value as established through registration under the Historic Places Act 1993 (HPA) or listing on a District Plan archaeological sites as defined in the HPA (section 2) heritage spaces and landscapes such as Cathedral, Victoria, Latimer and Cranmer Squares places of cultural significance to Ngāi Tahu, including wāhi tapu and wāhi taonga areas. The term ‘heritage building’ as used in the Heritage Recovery Programme may include structures, such as bridges and memorials. For a brief overview of the history and heritage of greater Christchurch, see Appendix Two (page 34). The Heritage Recovery Programme does not have statutory authority over property owners (private or public), but proposes to review whether existing regulation is appropriate (see ‘Ensuring that District Plan regulation assists recovery’, page 22.) It covers heritage material that is excavated