For years, many of the rooms in Wollongong's picturesque manor house Gleniffer Brae have been left unused due to a stalemate between the council and the NSW Heritage Council.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
With the state heritage body failing to endorse a Conservation Management Plan for the historic site, plans to turn Wollongong's Botanic Garden into a "regional garden of excellence" over the next 20 years have also been stalled since 2018.
Now, tired of waiting, the council has announced plans to sidestep NSW Heritage, and push ahead with plans to rezone Gleniffer Brae - which were first flagged in 2016 - without their endorsement.
In a report to next week's meeting, staff have recommended councillors vote to finalise a rezoning proposal which would allow functions to occur at Gleniffer Brae, "despite the unresolved objection of the Heritage Branch".
They should also adopt and finalise the plan of management for the gardens, staff said, to pave the way for the 20 year master plan to be approved.
2016 background: Functions at Gleniffer Brae manor house one step closer
"The delay in obtaining the NSW Heritage Council's approval of the Gleniffer Brae Conservation Management Plan has left the council managed rooms within Gleniffer Brae unused," the report said.
"[It has also] delayed the finalisation of the Wollongong Botanic Garden Plan of Management and delayed the finalisation and implementation of the Wollongong Botanic Garden Master Plan."
"Council has made reasonable steps to address the issues raised by Heritage NSW over a number of years. It is considered appropriate not to delay the Planning Proposal and Plan of Management any longer."
The council said it had written to the Heritage Council several times since 2017, and had made a number of adjustments to the conservation management plan to allay any heritage concerns.
"It appears that Heritage NSW supports the proposed Function Centre use of Gleniffer Brae site, however continues to object to the Planning Proposal until the [Conservation Management Plan] is endorsed," the council said.
"As there does not appear to be concern with the use of Gleniffer Brae for functions, Council officers propose that the Planning Proposal and PoM be progressed regardless of the objection from Heritage NSW."
"The NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment will assess the objection as part of their review and plan-making process."
Eventually, the council said, it will require the endorsement of Heritage NSW to proceed with the Botanic Garden master plan.
As well as the Gleniffer Brae function centre, the Botanic Garden draft master plan included a major new public entry to the site from Northfields Avenue.
There would also be a new café and toilet facility near the Duck Pond, a café restaurant in refurbished Crattloe Cottage and options for increased parking along the Paulsgrove Street boundary.
There was also to be an upgraded entry at Murphy's Avenue carpark, a refurbished Sir Joseph Banks Glasshouse facility as a 50 year anniversary project in 2021 and the completion of Stages 2 and 3 of the Rainforest Walk.
For a decade, the future of Gleniffer Brae - and especially the question of whether the Conservatorium of Music will continue to have a place at the historic manor house - has been uncertain.
In 2012, councillors rejected a controversial $40 million University of Wollongong plan for a creative arts precinct at the site, which has been labelled by some as the worst decision of the last council.
Kate McIlwain
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
