A new Dunedin City Council steering group aims to encourage the restoration and re-use of hundreds of heritage buildings.
The group was introduced at a public meeting on Tuesday night, attended by more than 40 people, mostly heritage building owners.
Its chairman, councillor Dave Cull, says the group's focus is commercial and institutional buildings built before 1930.
He says if they were to disappear, the character of Dunedin would go with them.
Mr Cull says the group will support heritage building owners who want to restore and re-use their properties, and will consider ways of encouraging others to do so.
