More than 100 heritage specialists and industry professionals attended the Incentives for Historic Heritage Workshop held in Auckland recently.

The NZ Historic Places Trust and the Auckland Regional Council joined forces to stage the workshop, which was organised with support from the New Zealand Planning Institute and the Property Council of New Zealand.

Up for scrutiny were a range of appropriate incentives for owners of heritage buildings, to ensure these buildings stay useful, economically viable and remain for future generations to enjoy.

(Pictured left: Keynote speaker, economist Dr David Throsby of Macquarie University).

“We were very encouraged by the extremely high attendance at the workshop which included heritage professionals in planning, architecture and local government roles, as well as developers, and people who have had long experience advocating for heritage in a private capacity,” says the NZHPT’s chief executive Bruce Chapman.

"The workshop was an excellent opportunity to bring together people representing different areas of expertise to share ideas and perspectives on how heritage incentives can work.

"What emerged from the various discussions was general agreement that both regulatory and non-regulatory incentives can be a powerful tool for encouraging heritage preservation, and that there is real potential for these to be used creatively,” he says.

Some of the workshop highlights included:

• Keynote speaker, economist Dr David Throsby of Macquarie University, who explored some of the questions around establishing a value for cultural assets which goes beyond dollars and cents, and which accurately reflect the value that heritage buildings – and other cultural capital – are held by the community.
  
  
• Auckland City’s chief heritage adviser, George Farrant, who presented an overview of 10 techniques to help provide incentives for people wanting to preserve heritage – including rates relief, fee waivers, grants, suspensory loans and transferable development rights.
  
  
• Matthew Cockram, chief executive of Cooper and Company, who talked about his company’s approach to development including incorporating a ‘sense of legacy’, and considering each development’s connection with the community and its place over time.
  He also advocated for a flexible approach to incentives with win-win solutions the key objective. He also made the point that “support, encouragement and enthusiasm” were good incentives in themselves.
  
  
• Connal Townsend of the Property Council of New Zealand said extrinsic incentives (tangible incentives like money) are a key factor in successful preservation, though a mix of extrinsic and intrinsic incentives (eg status and security) can go a long way towards providing compensation for owners of heritage buildings.
  He concluded that grants and loans are the best incentives as they have maximum flexibility and can be targeted precisely at the most needy and deserving causes. He also noted that a successful preservation system cannot be achieved without improved incentives. 
  
  
• Peter Dowell, joint managing director of Wellington-based Heritage Property Management, highlighted the potential for economic stimulus in restoring heritage buildings – seeing historic buildings not as liabilities, but as assets not yet returned to productive use.
  
  He also cited as an example of this the National Trust of America’s Main Street programme which has seen $12.8 billion invested in American ‘downtowns’ in the past 20 years resulting in 62,000 building renovations, 51,000 new businesses developed and 193,000 new jobs created.

“What emerged very clearly from the diverse range of professions and perspectives represented at the workshop was broad agreement that built heritage is extremely important in fostering a sense of identity and community among New Zealanders, as well as a sense of belonging,” says Bruce Chapman.

“As such, preserving our built heritage is extremely important. There are clearly challenges inherent in meeting increasing community expectations that historic buildings will be preserved, while also treating affected owners fairly.

“The workshop was extremely useful in bringing people together and exploring the possibilities that heritage incentives can provide to achieve that objective.”