TDB Advisory recently assisted, on a pro bono basis, the Voluntary Heritage Group (VHG) prepare its submission to the Environment Select Committee on the Planning Bill.

VHG is a nationwide group of citizens who support heritage protection where it has the agreement of the owner. VHG believes that if society wishes to preserve privately owned heritage, society should either (1) obtain the owner’s agreement, or failing that (2) compensate the owner fully and fairly for the resulting loss and costs.

The current heritage regime enables councils to impose heritage controls on private property without consent and without meaningful compensation. This has four predictable consequences: it imposes significant costs on owners; it destroys private value (even where the public benefits); it undermines the affordability of housing for the young and those on low incomes; and it often fails to protect the heritage itself.

While the Bill improves the overall system architecture for resource management, it does not address the fundamental problems in heritage designation: councils can still impose significant historic heritage controls on private property without consent and without providing full compensation.

The key recommendations are that the Bill:

1. Adopt an owner‑consent rule: local authorities should not be able to designate privately owned property as “significant historic heritage” in a District Plan without the owner’s express written consent.

2. If owner consent is not adopted, designation of a private property as heritage should only be permitted by Heritage NZ Pouhere Taonga (HNZ).

3. If owner consent is not adopted, full and fair compensation should be required: the Bill should require compensation that reflects the full loss imposed, with the calculation clearly set out in the Act and with an effective dispute‑resolution mechanism.

Requiring owner consent will align incentives, improve heritage outcomes, and restore confidence that “heritage” is not being used as a cost‑free regulatory tool. Failing that, permitting only HNZ to recommend properties as heritage and requiring full and fair compensation for the owner is the minimum that is required.