NSW Heritage Council approves Wollongong Harbour listing

The NSW Heritage Council has approved the heritage listing of Wollongong Harbour, prompting calls for Planning Minister Tony Kelly to back it.The harbour precinct from Flagstaff Point to south of North Beach was nominated for listing on the State Heritage Register in 2008 in a bid to protect its historic features and preserve its status as a working harbour.The State Government has also sought public comment on a planned revamp of the harbour, which could include kiosks and multi-storey buildings.As minister for both planning and lands, Mr Kelly is in charge of both development applications and heritage conservation.Reclaim the City spokesman Felix Bronneberg, whose group had rallied against large-scale development of the harbour, welcomed the Heritage Council's decision and urged Mr Kelly to approve the listing."We are hopeful the minister will proceed with approval of the listing, however we hope the conflict of interest with other ministries does not interfere with proper assessment of nomination," he said.Mr Bronneberg called on Mr Kelly to approve the heritage listing in full."We don't want to see any inappropriate caveats put on the approval to enable the minister to proceed with overdevelopment proposals," he said.Should Mr Kelly back the listing, any development would be subject to NSW Heritage Council approval.Opposition spokesman for the Illawarra Greg Pearce said Mr Kelly should "listen to the experts" and act on the recommendation.Mr Kelly has previously said the heritage status of the harbour would be decided before any development was considered.He was unavailable for comment yesterday.