Opinion

Ongoing fight to preserve built heritage

It's a very fine line when it comes to property owners' rights and historical homes and buildings.

Should they face the wrecking ball or should they be saved as a historic statement of Australia's past?

The question is a prickly one and one that has continued to cause much angst among heritage experts and those who believe it is their right to demolish in the name of progress or because the buildings are in disrepair or unsafe.

It's a scenario that is now being played out in the Illawarra with plans to demolish a home in Warilla's Little Lake Crescent already whipping up a groundswell of opposition.

The owners of the distinctive '60s style home on Warilla's popular "millionaires row" want to demolish it and build a more modern structure.

The Safari home, which could easily resemble a spaceship, was built in the 1960s and is an example of the popular Beachcomber elevated design.

The Mercury agrees with National Trust advocacy manager Graham Quint that the home is of significant historical interest and value.

But if, as the owners say, the concrete is cancerous and dangerous then they may have a right to demolish and rebuild.

We would urge caution before any decision is made because once it is gone, it is gone forever.

Posted By: Editorial on 18/12/2009 1:46:00 PM | Comments (1)

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There is not as fine here a line as the Mercury editorial claims. Lets examine this logical rather than through the biased lens of the self interested heritage lobby. If, as this owner claims and should be readily verifiable by an engineering report, this privately owned structure is riddled with concrete cancer, then there is no social utility of any kind in slapping a Council heritage order on it. Why? Because Councils have no power whatsoever to force the owner of a privately owned item they heritage list to spend money on the item. Councils have no power to garnishee owners bank accounts and drain it of the hundreds of thousands (or more) it would require to remedy concrete cancer. Further, concrete cancer destroys the fabric of the item itself so any repairs sufficient to fix the problem, apart from being horribly expensive, would render the item no longer original heritage as it would be new faux heritage tricked up to "look" the part. Faking heritage is a contradiction in terms. Apart from all that the item is a heritage joke. Its nothing more than a project home simulated to look like a space ship. Some critical assessment is needed by the Mercury here.

Posted by George, 20/12/2009 11:49:24 AM, on Illawarra Mercury

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