The WCC propose to modify the District Plan in a way that has the potential to seriously impact residential property rights. The Thorndon Residents' Association is seeking better engagement by residents on the proposals and encouraging an active conversation between the community and the WCC to find a better way forward.
Our Vision
The TRA vision for Thorndon has always been to work alongside the council and all interested parties. We believe no plan can be sustained without the engagement and agreement of the people it is meant to serve, and it must take into genuine consideration those who are affected by the plan and minimise adverse impacts on residents' property rights. There is a very real need to create a future for the Thorndon community that is distinct and not predicted by its past.
Current state and Community involvement
Feedback from a public meeting held 11 March 2009 indicated that the council process was flawed from a community perspective; feedback from the formal written submission process is limited.
The process was stalled and it was agreed with council “that the revised provisions will be further consulted on with the Thorndon community prior to any heritage related proposed district plan change for the area being reported to the Council for its consideration”.
The Thorndon Residents’ Association has agreed to work in partnership with the Council and hold a series of local meetings and workshops to gather feedback from Thorndon and the wider Wellington community.
Community Meetings
The following are dates and venues for meetings to be held in February and March 2010. Your future and your property rights are affected, so we recommend you update your diaries, and strongly urge you attend one or more of the meetings:
Future state (where we want to be)We are seeking a solution that the community can sustain over the long haul that balances a range of competing needs, economic, environmental, social, and historical. We recognise that this will only occur when public conversations are held, with council commitment to outcomes based on accountability to the community. We also recognise this will be especially difficult in a community like Thorndon, where history and the past seem to be overriding restraints. We have partnered with a number of interested parties and in particular the New Zealand Institute of Architects (NZIA).
The TRA agrees with the NZIA Manifesto for New Zealand’s Built Environment, in particular:
• the decisions we make on the form of our built environment can influence how we define ourselves as families, communities, and ultimately as a nation
• we need to be mindful of these qualities—spiritual, spatial, sustainable.
TRA agree with NZIA that the future of Thorndon’s built environment must be based on a combination of five key concepts:
1. community—quality community spaces, essential for a well-functioning modern society
2. sustainability—in both economic and moral terms
3. affordability—long term affordability through good design is the ultimate goal
4. heritage—preservation of the past and creation of the future must become a matter of deliberate design, not chance
5. urban design—the places we create should reflect our nation’s heritage, culture and aspirations
The TRA does not accept or agree with Council’s concept that Thorndon’s future be controlled solely by heritage zone ring fencing.
Building energy efficiency into homes is now an important consideration; whereas only decades ago this consideration didn't prevail at all. Freedom to exercise environmental conservation on a case by case basis must now be part of Thorndon's evolving residential character. For reasons like this there is a concern that WCC's current proposal to heritage ringfence any part of Thorndon is an inappropriate and 'blunt' regulatory intervention that will hinder necessary innovation, adaptability and flexibility and have the potential to seriously impinge on fundamental residential property rights.
Therefore the TRA is seeking more sound and appropriate responses from the WCC to meet the contemporary needs of residents, families, and the use of their residential properties, whilst sustaining the overall character of Thorndon.
It is our expectation that we will partner with WCC, interested parties and residents to build and achieve a sustainable, community endorsed outcome.
Your participation is essential. Please note the meeting dates and venues above.
Meantime, if you would like more information or earlier involvement please contact the TRA.
Lennon asks: “Once a thing’s been done it’s been done, so why all this nostalgia?”
ReplyDeleteHe continues: “I mean, for the 60s and 70s, you know, looking backwards for inspiration, copying the past,” he adds.
“How’s that rock and roll? Do something of your own. Start something new. Live your life now.”
Monroe’s sound grabs are in a similar vein.
“You should create your own icons and way of life, because nostalgia isn’t glamorous. If I had one thing to say it would be, live your life now.”
The evidence is all around; the suburb displays 'layers' of heritage. Icons from every generation and era. The suburb must evolve; allow reasonable change and innovation. Too much regulation risks stifling vibrancy and character.
ReplyDeleteI don't think anyone's opposed to heritage-listing of part of Thorndon - but the heritage rules must be updated to meet contemporary needs of homeowners.
ReplyDeleteI totally question WCC's "democratic" approach where a person in Johnsonville has equal say to someone who lives and owns a piece of Thorndon on the way forward. Living in Thorndon I feel I have a right to help shape its future... I don't feel that way about Karori or Kilbirne or any other suburb - and nor should I. WCC's attempts to get concensus are hugely flawed in their approach. Thorndon residents have most to lose in this process and the current dialogue is heavily pitched in favour of what the bureaucrats in council and heritage perceive as good for others.
If the heritage rules are outdated and rubbish, then bring them up to the year 2010 and beyond.