Radical changes are proposed to Mount Victoria’s housing as part of the Wellington City Council’s District Plan review. It’s important to understand what is happening and have your say before it’s too late. Consultation underway now is the first stage of the engagement process (which continues into 2022), but the sooner the Council hears feedback the sooner they can address it.
Read the Mt Victoria Historical Society’s submission:
Under the proposed District Plan, all areas within a walkable catchment of the city centre (this includes all of Mt Victoria) become a ‘Medium Density Residential Zone’ in which new buildings of up to 6 storeys can be built without a resource consent. Only the areas that have a ‘qualifying matter’, such as heritage values, can be zoned differently. You can see the results in this suburb map created from the council’s online map: the yellow areas are where 6-storey buildings would be able to be built without any form of community input.
Major changes proposed:
- – Permission to remove old houses: currently Mt Victoria is subject to a ‘pre-1930s demolition rule’ which means a resource consent is required to demolish a house built before 1930. This rule is now only proposed to apply to about a third of the suburb known as ‘character precincts’. Old houses that are outside these precincts will be able to be demolished without a resource consent (i.e. no community input), no matter what their value (unless specifically listed on a District Plan as a heritage building)
- – Limited design guidance: Currently a design guide applies to all of the suburb; under this proposal it will now only apply to the character precincts.
- – 6 storeys permitted: being part of the Medium Density Residential Zone will mean buildings up to 21 metres (6 storeys) are permitted without a resource consent everywhere except the character precinct areas (where the permitted height is proposed to be 11 metres or around 2-3 storeys).
If you are alarmed at the effects these changes may have on our suburb, please make a submission before the deadline of 14 December 2021. (Now extended to 17 December)
The Mount Victoria Planning Group has prepared a submission guide. Download the submission guide using the link below.
Get more information and make a submission on the Wellington City Council website.