2007 Youth Heritage Competition - Remember when... gathering memories of places spaces icons and identities

If you are in year 3-13 its time to start thinking about your entry for this exciting new competition which will have its own awards ceremony in June 2007. See South Learning Centre website for more details.

Character Housing Maintenance Grant applications are open now, Read more.

The Christchurch City Council has prepared an Issues and Options Discussion Paper as a first step in reviewing the City Plan heritage provisions. It canvases a wide range of heritage management issues and presents a range of options for consideration by the Council and the community.

During the last 10 years the Council has received ongoing feedback from heritage building owners, community and professional groups, and residents’ associations concerned at the loss of heritage buildings in the City.  Some have said the current City Plan heritage provisions are too onerous and costly for individual property owners, whilst others feel that they are too liberal and do not provide adequate protection for heritage buildings

In balancing community aspirations, the Plan’s heritage provisions need to:

• adequately fulfil Council responsibilities under the Resource Management Act, which has recently been amended to raise the protection of heritage to a matter of national importance;
• dovetail with the role of the New Zealand Historic Places Trust (NZHPT); and
• be compatible with the New Zealand ICOMOS charter (a United Nations - initiated document aimed to guide preservation of heritage items globally).

To help the Council develop City Plan provisions that achieve the balance of protecting Christchurch’s unique heritage resources while not unnecessarily burdening owners with ‘red tape’, we would appreciate your comments and feedback at our Have Your Say page.