10 September 2004

Submissions welcomed from public on urban design related plan changes

Auckland City is looking at introducing specific guidelines to help to protect the character of a number of traditional town centres of the city.

The public will have the opportunity to have their say on two proposed plan changes, as follows: proposed plan change 132 character overlay seeks to protect, maintain and enhance the identified character of six traditional town centres throughout the Auckland isthmus. proposed plan change 123 Mt Eden town centre plan focuses on maintaining and enhancing the character of Mt Eden village.

The two proposed changes are to be publicly notified on Sunday 12 September with the associated guidelines and will be available for viewing on
www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/isthmusdistrictplan. Submissions close on 11 October 2004.

“Auckland City believes that in the midst of considerable urban growth it is important for us to maintain the traditional character of our distinctive town centres,” says chairperson of the City Development Committee, Councillor Juliet Yates.

Due to accelerating development pressures, local shopping centres are likely to change. Those which have buildings whose character and architecture the public appreciates, or broad heritage features are vulnerable.

The proposed character overlay identifies buildings within each town centre which are considered to be character defining or character supporting. It seeks to protect them through either requiring resource consents for works on buildings within the character overlay areas or by providing design guidelines to assist applicants with their building or alterations.

The Mt Eden village centre plan provides an individual approach for Mt Eden Village to deal with its specific amenity values. The centre plan is designed to enable business and community groups to participate in the development of an individual planning approach for their centre.

ENDS

© Scoop Media

Gordon Campbell: On the Sony cyber attack

Given the layers of meta-irony involved, the saga of the Sony cyber attack seemed at the outset more like a snarky European art film than a popcorn entry at the multiplex.

Yet now with (a) President Barack Obama weighing in on the side of artistic freedom and calling for the US to make a ‘proportionate response’quickly followed by (b) North Korea’s entire Internet service going down, and with both these events being followed by (c) Sony deciding to backtrack and release The Interview film that had made it a target for the dastardly North Koreans in the first place, then ay caramba…the whole world will now be watching how this affair pans out. More>>