Chapter 3 - Heritage 3.0 Heritage 3.1 Introduction Heritage resources contribute to environmental quality, and consequently the community’s wellbeing, in many ways. The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) New Zealand Charter for the Conservation of Places of Cultural Heritage Value describes places of cultural heritage value: “In general such places: i Have lasting values and can be appreciated in their own right; ii Teach us about the past and the culture of those who came before us; iii Provide the context for community identity whereby people relate to the land and to those who have gone before; iv Provide variety and contrast in the modern world and a measure against which we can compare the achievements of today; and v Provide visible evidence of the continuity between past, present and future.” In addition, the heritage resources of the Plan area are becoming increasingly important as tourism grows, bringing with it the advantage of commercial support for enhancement of the historical environment. Together, the Historic Places Act 1993 and the Resource Management Act 1991 provide an overlapping set of protections for historical places. The Historic Places Act 1993 provides protection of historic places (including buildings) and waahi tapu during the registration process and general authority requirement for archaeological sites, and allows for covenants to be placed on land titles. Under Section 10 of the Historic Places Act no archaeological sites (whether recorded, unrecorded or registered) can be destroyed, damaged or modified without consent of the New Zealand Historic Places Trust. Section 22 of the Historic Places Act requires the Trust to establish and maintain a register of historic places and areas, and waahi tapu and waahi tapu areas. Registration of an item by the Trust only provides protection during the limited interim registration phase. Rather the register is an advocacy tool, which the Trust is required to maintain and supply to the Council. One of the purposes of the Register is to assist historic places, historic areas, waahi tapu and waahi tapu areas to be protected under the Resource Management Act 1991. The Resource Management Act 1991 also provides a regime for protection through heritage orders which can be implemented by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust or other 'heritage protection authorities’. Heritage protection is an ongoing process. The New Zealand Historic Places Trust, the Council and the community need to be able to assess heritage resources, indicate their importance and assign them different levels of protection. Heritage resources need to be reassessed from time to time so that as time passes new items can be protected and older or scarcer items can be given more protection. Heritage resources are often fragile and may be adversely affected by activities, development or lack of care and maintenance. The challenge is to manage change, recognising the need to allow communities to alter and grow, while ensuring that significant heritage resources are retained for both present and future generations. However, it needs to be recognised that protection of heritage resources provides a range of (sometimes conflicting) interests and requirements. Interests of private owners need to be considered as do the financial and other practical requirements for 3 - 1