HERITAGE BUILDINGS AND PLACES RECOVERY PROGRAMME FOR GREATER CHRISTCHURCH Ko te Hōtaka Haumanu e aro ana ki Ngā Whare me Ngā Wāhi Tuku Iho Christchurch Arts Centre. Conservation work under way. Source: Ross Becker November 2014 D-0565885 Heritage Recovery Programme Contents He Rārangi upoko Introduction He Kupu Whakataki............................................................................................................3 Executive summary He Whakarāpopototanga ...................................................................................... 4 Section One: What does the Heritage Recovery Programme deliver? He aha ngā hua o te Hōtaka Haumanu? ............................................................................................................................................... 6 Section Two: What has been happening? He aha ngā pūrongo? ......................................................... 9 Section Three: Heritage recovery projects Ngā Kaupapa Hōtaka Haumanu ...................................... 16 Project 1: Retaining heritage buildings and places .......................................................................... 18 Project 2: Determining the best methods of strengthening heritage buildings .............................. 21 Project 3: Reusing heritage fabric retrieved from heritage and character buildings ...................... 22 Project 4: Ensuring that district plan regulation assists recovery ................................................... 24 Project 5: Identifying and restoring sites of significance to Ngāi Tahu ........................................... 26 Project 6: Retrieving archaeological information and artefacts ...................................................... 28 Project 7: Conserving artefacts recovered from archaeological sites ............................................. 30 Project 8: Keeping memory and awareness alive ............................................................................ 32 Appendices He Āpitihanga Appendix One: The partner agencies.................................................................................................... 35 Appendix Two: The history and heritage of greater Christchurch ....................................................... 38 Appendix Three: The Canterbury Earthquake Heritage Buildings Fund ............................................... 44 Appendix Four: Statutory documents ................................................................................................... 46 Appendix Five: ICOMOS New Zealand Charter 2010 ..……………………………………….………….…………..…….49 2 Heritage Recovery Programme Introduction He Kupu Whakataki Greater Christchurch may forever be associated with the impact of the earthquakes in the minds of New Zealanders but they are not what defines the region. The post-quake spirit of recovery is a powerful force rebuilding lives and communities, and the infrastructure which supports them. Heritage buildings have long been central to greater Christchurch’s sense of identity and very much a part of its distinctive character. At the height of the emergency response, heritage agencies acted swiftly to help preserve as many heritage buildings and places as possible. There are challenges in preserving earthquake-damaged heritage buildings – in securing insurance, raising finance and rebuilding public confidence in the safety of older buildings. In response to these challenges, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage has coordinated the development of this separate recovery programme for heritage buildings and places. This document provides a record of the collective work over the last three years of a range of agencies with responsibilities for heritage conservation – Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga, Christchurch City Council, Waimakariri District Council, Selwyn District Council and Ngāi Tahu – and the projects which have grown out of that work. The buildings that survive the earthquakes will become a vital link to greater Christchurch’s past. As the Christchurch rebuild progresses, the far-sightedness and expertise of our heritage agencies will truly show their value. Lewis Holden Chief Executive Ministry for Culture and Heritage 3 Heritage Recovery Programme Executive summary He Whakarāpopototanga 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 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 9-15) and eight heritage recovery projects. These projects are: 1 retaining heritage buildings and places 2 determining the best methods of strengthening heritage buildings 3 reusing heritage fabric retrieved from heritage and character buildings 4 ensuring that district plan regulation assists recovery 5 identifying and restoring sites of significance to Ngāi Tahu 6 retrieving archaeological information and artefacts 7 conserving artefacts recovered from archaeological sites 8 keeping memory and awareness alive. Scope The Heritage Recovery Programme responds to heritage issues across all of greater Christchurch: 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 the Sport and Recreation Recovery Programme. 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, Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (Heritage New Zealand) (formerly known as the New Zealand Historic Places Trust), 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.3 A wide range of heritage and property groups provided input to the scoping paper. MCH sought feedback on the Heritage Recovery Programme from property owners, heritage advocacy and property management groups in December 2013 to March 2014. The 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 http://www.mch.govt.nz/news-events/news/heritage-recovery-programme 4 Heritage Recovery Programme Programme incorporates some changes suggested in that feedback (a summary of which is available on MCH’s website). This final Heritage Recovery Programme incorporates feedback where possible.4 The partner agencies developed the Heritage Recovery Programme in accordance with CERA’s Recovery Strategy for Greater Christchurch (‘Recovery Strategy’), which 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 A summary of submissions with MCH’s responses are available on the MCH website. 5 Heritage Recovery Programme Section One: What does the Heritage Recovery Programme deliver? He aha ngā hua o te Hōtaka Haumanu? 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 there are unparalleled opportunities to establish a distinctive city that incorporates new and old architecture in creative ways. In time, some of these new buildings may be regarded as heritage. This programme helps recognise the value of heritage and its continuing contribution to the economic and cultural vitality of greater Christchurch. 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 The objective of the Heritage Recovery Programme is to achieve an appropriate