Giant Buddhist statue planned for Waiwera Valley questioned

A 16.5-metre Buddhist statue is set to be built on privately-owned land on a 60-metre-high hilltop in the Waiwera Valley. Residents are upset that there was no consultation from the Auckland Council about the proposed statue, but the Council said that the statue of Buddhist master Guru Rinpoche had been submitted as a work of art and had been accepted as no resource consent was needed.

The Auckland Unitary Plan states that art in rural areas does not need to go through a resource consent process. Therefore, no public consultation is required.

A lawyer for the organisation behind the statue, Jeta’s Grove Charitable Trust, said the statue is “a gift, intended as a peaceful harmony for all faiths, while promoting the ethics and teaching of the Buddha”.

Residents are concerned that the golden statue will dominate the area, and that there is no clear definition from the Council as to what constitutes an artwork.

Auckland councillor Greg Sayers has taken up the residents’ cause, saying the statue will be “towering over all these neighbours’ properties”.

When Mr Sayers raised the religious aspect of the piece with council planners and questioned if the Buddhist statue was art, they referred him to Michelangelo’s religious works, which include the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and the sculpture of the biblical David.

With no definition of an artwork in the Council’s unitary plan, applicants are entitled to a broad view of it. However, if the statue led to the site being used as a place of religious worship, then it would require a resource consent as it would no longer be considered a permitted artwork.

FULL STORY

Golden Buddhist statue set to ‘tower above’ horrified Waiwera Valley because council says it’s art (By David Fisher/New Zealand Herald – subscription required)