Heritage grants approval aids repairs

An 1899 St Albans villa, a 19th century waterwheel in Orton Bradley Park and an early settler’s Akaroa cottage are among seven structures that have been approved for Christchurch City Council Heritage Incentive Grants.

The Council’s Social, Community Development and Housing Committee has approved the incentive grants ranging from $5136 to nearly $90,000.

The proposed grants will cover maintenance and repairs, along with upgrade and conservation work.

One of the oldest buildings – an Oxford Street cottage in Lyttelton that dates to the 1860s – has lost several heritage elements over the years.

The one-and-a-half storey dwelling was designed to work with the slopes of the portside town.

The former P & D Duncan Foundry Building in St Asaph Street.

Utilising a grant of up to $21,554, the aim is to reinstate a metal roof and timber sash windows in place of the architecturally unsympathetic metal tiled roof and aluminium window frames.

Committee Chairperson Phil Clearwater says these heritage buildings are representative of “our place and our identity”.

“It’s important to set a framework for their retention so that we continue to link the present with the past,” Cr Clearwater says.

Up to $88,650 has been recommended to conserve, repair and upgrade a protected heritage facade at 201 High Street in the central city and up to $63,808 for a heritage building at 204 St Asaph Street.

The High Street building was formerly known as the Victoria Black clothing store, part of a thriving – and innovative – fashion precinct in the central city.

Council Heritage Team Leader Brendan Smyth says preservation and sustainability are the keys to retaining the city’s heritage identity.

“These buildings are the capsules for many stories and life experiences that are highly valued by people who live and work in the city,” Mr Smyth says. “They showcase the city’s great historic past, which can become a distinct part of the future.

“The High Street facade is an important element of a cluster of remaining post-earthquake heritage structures while the former P & D Duncan Foundry Building in St Asaph Street is a rare reminder of the history of heavy industry in the city.”

Up to $76,342 is earmarked to be spent on the St Albans villa in Ranfurly Street.

Built by the Soanes brothers, Henry and Philip, to showcase their design and building skills, the double brick return bay villa retains much of the original form and character.

Up to $12,678 has been recommended for the 19th century waterwheel in the millhouse, as well as the historic stables, in Orton Bradley Park, Diamond Harbour.

In 1885, early owner Orton Bradley developed a power system via the waterwheel. This drove a generator that powered his house and tools.

One of the smaller grants – up to $6500 – covers the proposed conservation of one of the earliest timber cottages in Akaroa, built in the mid-1850s by one of the first European settlers, Captain James Bruce.

The smallest grant – up to $5136 – is for a Riccarton house constructed under the Workers’ Dwelling Act 1905.

The Act allowed the State to set aside land and build houses to lease to workers.

Built in 1909, the house was part of the Walker Settlement, named after William Campbell Walker, a former speaker of the Legislative Council and Governor of Canterbury College.

Now home to a restaurant, the ferro-concrete building – with an ornate wooden veranda and porch – is one of only two remaining settlement structures.