Heritage advocates are outraged by the Government’s decision to remove protection of a derelict Wellington housing block, saying the building is “part of our story” and could have been restored for a “reasonable cost”.

The move to strip the Gordon Wilson Flats of their heritage status was announced by RMA and Housing Minister Chris Bishop this morning, reigniting the capital’s heritage debate.

The flats have sat empty on The Terrace in central Wellington since being deemed earthquake-prone in 2012. Today’s decision clears a major hurdle for the building’s demolition.

Bishop said Cabinet has agreed to a Resource Management Act amendment specifically to delist the Wellington building.

“The amendment will remove the flats’ protected heritage status and will make its demolition a permitted activity under the RMA. This means the building can finally be demolished, without a resource consent.“

It will mean Victoria University of Wellington, which owns the building, will be able to demolish it to make way for its student accommodation plans which the Herald revealed last year.

Wellington City councillor Iona Pannett, who has long advocated for protection of the city’s character and heritage, said the announcement is “deeply unfortunate”.

The Gordon Wilson Flats on The Terrace could soon be demolished. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Pannett previously lived in the flats herself and told Newstalk ZB this morning, “It’s an amazing place to live, just absolutely fantastic, it would be fantastic for students and it should be restored”.

Wellington City Council voted last year to remove the heritage listing of the flats, opening up the option for demolition of the derelict building, but the listing couldn’t be removed without support of the Housing Minister.

Pannett said the brutalist flats are among the last of their kind.

“It needs to be kept as a part of our story,” she said.

Pannett said after speaking with property developers, she believed it could have been restored to its former glory at a “reasonable cost”.

The university had previously suggested restoration could cost between $30 and $40 million.

“This is also a story of failure on behalf of both Housing New Zealand and the university; they’ve been poor owners. This building could have been restored.”

Pannett said the heritage community would continue to oppose moves to make it easier to demolish buildings.

LIVE Wellington, a pro-heritage advocacy group, recently took Wellington City Council to court over its District Plan changes, which was thrown out by the court.

Convenor Jane O’Loughlin said the group are not taking any legal action about Gordon Wilson flats specifically.

“Such a shame they have been left to decay, could have been housing people,” O’Loughlin said.

Councillor Iona Pannett says Bishop's move to delist the flats is “deeply unfortunate”. Photo / Mark Mitchell.

Bishop is celebrating the looming delisting as a mark of progress for the city, saying “the people of Wellington want them demolished”.

“Many Wellingtonians will be relieved to know the Gordon Wilson Flats’ days of heritage protection are numbered, and that it is unlikely to mar our beautiful city’s skyline for too much longer,” Bishop said.

Built in 1959 and designed by Government architect Gordon Wilson, the building is seen as an iconic symbol of early social housing in New Zealand.

In 2012, tenants were evicted after an engineer’s report deemed it unsafe in the event of an earthquake or strong winds. It has remained vacant since and fallen into disrepair.

It was then purchased by the university which wanted to develop the site by building a multimillion-dollar gateway to the campus above, Te Huanui, made up of “world-class teaching and research facilities surrounded by lively civic spaces”.

Its heritage status meant it could not be demolished.

The Te Huanui project was canned last year in favour of student accommodation.

Victoria University acting vice-chancellor and Provost Bryony James told the Herald demolition will happen “within the next year”.

James said the university welcomes Bishop’s decision and the building is not “serving our student community or the city in any way”.

“When we purchased the building, it was already deteriorating and unsafe for people to live in.

“We have scoped the options and the safest and most cost-effective use of the site is to demolish the building and construct good quality, affordable and warm student accommodation.

“Having the heritage status removed will mean we can now progress a development that benefits our student community and the city.”

Ethan Manera New Zealand Herald journalist based in Wellington. He joined NZME in 2023 as a broadcast journalist and is interested in local issues, politics and property in the capital. Ethan can be emailed at [email protected].