Canada Bay Greens Councillor Bernard Rooney has urged that a bungalow at 12 Park Avenue Concord should not be demolished to make way for a modern building out of character with the Heritage aspects of other buildings in the street.
“Although not itself a heritage listed item, the pre-war Bungalow on the site is in a Conservation Area and contributes to the mix of historical buildings which comprise the Conservation area,” said Cr Rooney.
“Much of Concord consists of inter-war bungalows, which form an attractive and desirable streetscape highly valued by residents and others. There is strong feeling among the community in Concord and among Greens that these features of the area be preserved wherever possible.
“Permitting the demolition of this example in Park Ave sets a poor precedent and makes vulnerable any bungalow in the area when we should be fighting to preserve them.
“The building is in good condition and is capable of being renovated and extended in sympathetic style. Given the size of the block, a large home with modern fittings could be constructed as an alternative to demolition,” Cr Rooney said.
Greens candidate for the Federal Seat of Lowe Marc Rerceretnam has also called for the preservation of the bungalow and a green ban on demolition.
“Although not heritage listed the National Trust has recommended the retention of this house. Further, and perhaps more importantly, I believe that demolition of this house would be contrary to the Council’s own planning guidelines,” said Dr Rerceretnam.
Cr Rooney has recommended that the General Manager and the Mayor (who have delegated authority over the matter) not approve the DA if it involves demolition of the bungalow. At the very least, it should be returned to full Council for consideration given the controversy over heritage, tree preservation and process.
UPDATE: The Inner West Courier reports on our campaign to save the bungalow.
3 responses so far ↓
Heritage // July 11, 2007 at 9:03 pm
Why don’t you demand that Council place an IHO on the site, which Council has the delegation to impose. Then demand a heritage assessment of the site and surrounding area be undertaken by Council’s heritage advisor? Section 79 of the EP&A Act requires that assessment ‘must consider the likely impacts of that development, including environmental impacts on both the natural and built environments, and social and economic impacts in the locality’. An item does not have to be heritage listed to require council to assess impact. The suggestion about a Green Ban is not much use when private contractors knock down houses in a day – most are probably un-unionised.
Bernard // July 12, 2007 at 9:27 am
Thanks for your comment.
Council did engage a Heritage Consultant in the initial stages, however she recommended that the bungalow could be demolished. Since then other Heritage advisors and the National Trust have recommended against demolition.
The matter is currently under delegated authority to the Mayor and GM, who could approve the DA (ie, demolition) if they see fit. I written to them to indicate my view on what should be done.
Gretel Miller // July 13, 2007 at 6:29 pm
It is worthwhile to note that Cr Rooney has had at least 5 months and three reports presented to him in which full analysis was done by numerous experts. Each of the reports, prepard by council, which contained the entire facts and included recommendations of approval were presented to all councillors at these public council meetings. It is amazing that Cr Bernard Rooney only now is making an objection. Especailly since he himself voted for the DA to be approved at the last council meeting. He also stood outside the dwelling at 12 Park Ave and agreed that its demolition would not be a significant loss to the conservation area. He also said at that time that the proposed development would be a great addition to the street in terms of how it looked and because it incorporated numerous environmentlally friendly features. Cr Rooney has also failed to mention above, that numerous repected Heritage advisors have also recommended that the house could be demolished and replaced with the proposed design. The deciding factor is that the council regulations do allow demolition of this building as it is not a contributory item. In addition many of the heritage experts believe the proposed new development will fit in will with the streetscape. It is an outrage that if he fills so strongly about this issue that he has taken this long to speak up and consequently allowed the applicant’s and council’s money to be wasted over the last 6 months.