Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga has launched a toolkit to provide information and strategies encouraging the retention, preservation and reuse of heritage buildings. It is available online.

The toolkit includes successful case studies from places such as s Napier, Auckland, Christchurch, Oamaru, Reefton, Whanganui, Dunedin and Invercargill. that have preserved and repurposed heritage buildings – and are enjoying economic and social benefits that these buildings now bring.

“Historic buildings give towns and cities their unique identities. They are familiar and often well loved by local communities both for their architectural beauty and for the stories they tell about these places,” says the Director of Organisational Development and writer of Saving the Town, Dr Glen Hazelton, who was a key figure in the successful redevelopment and revitalisation of the Warehouse Precinct in Dunedin when working for the Dunedin City Council.

“These buildings provide communities with a point of difference, and can result in substantial benefits driving broader positive change, including economic growth.”