Heritage NZ blocking a wheelchair ramp!

Stuff reports:

Heritage New Zealand opposed the design of a wheelchair ramp proposed for the main entrance of Wellington Rail Station in 2019.

KiwiRail, the owner of the building, has been planning to add a wheelchair-accessible ramp at the front entrance but said it has been blocked over heritage concerns for two years.

“We have been working with Heritage New Zealand to get its approval for the new ramp, but have not yet succeeded,” KiwiRail property manager Olivia Poulsen said.

I don’t think Heritage NZ should be abolished, but I’d remove their powers to designate buildings owned by other people as heritage buildings.

Instead I’d give them a budget. If they think a building is really a huge heritage merit, then they can buy it. But they should not have the power to block a wheelchair ramp at a railway station.

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