North Sydney Council has fought to protect century-old houses on Holt Avenue in Cremorne after two property developers submitted plans to knock down the homes for apartment complexes.
An artist’s impression of proposed residential apartments in Cremorne,which require the demolition of century-old homes.MMK Developments
While the council and local residents want the homes protected from demolition,the developers claim the properties have no heritage value and accuse the council of wasting ratepayers’ time and money.
Two of the homes were bulldozed last year and the council’s attempt to heritage list other properties were rejected by the Independent Planning Commission earlier this month.
Three other homes on Holt Avenue will be spared the wrecker’s ball until March 2024 after Environment and Heritage Minister James Griffin issued an interim heritage order (IHO).
Baker said the demolition of two of the homes was a blow to the local community but Griffin’s decision allowed “breathing space” for the council to try again for heritage listing.
North Sydney mayor Zoe Baker has vowed to stop a property developer bulldozing Federation-era homes in Cremorne.Janie Barrett
“Council’s position remains that the group of houses have heritage significance and that the demolition of the properties will destroy that significance,” she said.
A spokeswoman for Griffin said the temporary protection order will allow for further investigation to determine the heritage significance of the homes that developer MMK Developments wants to bulldoze for a three-storey residential building housing 16 apartments.
“We are disappointed to see that the minister issued a new IHO for the properties,” MMK Developments managing director Michael Wang said.
The company is also taking court action against the council over the deemed refusal of its development application.
Wang said the Holt Avenue properties had never been heritage listed and were not historically significant.
“This matter has cost both our company and North Sydney ratepayers a very significant amount of money and time,” he said.
Baker said the heritage values of the remaining homes were not impacted by neighbouring buildings.
“Proximity to new apartments reinforces the need to protect these dwellings as the last remnants of the evolution of the suburb and to allow us to interpret the traditional character and scale of the street,” she said.
Local councils and residents are fighting property developers to protect heritage site across Sydney including the.
A property development lobby group claims there is a that preferred old buildings to be left empty and decay rather than adapted and put to use.
Griffin’s intervention comes after two Federation bungalows were bulldozed by property developer Helm for a.
Helm managing director Mark Monk said the council had issued temporary heritage protection despite experts finding the homes had no heritage value.
“The court saw through the councillors political stunt and found that the houses at 131 and 133 Holt Avenue had no heritage value,removed the IHO and approved the DA,which has enabled the project to proceed,” he said.
Local resident Sarah Kok said the Holt Avenue homes under threat of demolition were an integral part of the heritage of Cremorne.
“We need to ensure we maintain a balance between development and preservation of our local heritage,” she said.
Multiple residential complexes are already under construction or are planned for Holt Avenue,which Kok said was used as a “rat run”.
“People are being crammed in without commensurate increases to infrastructure and facilities – buses,roads,schools,green space – or consideration of the congestion and amenity impacts on a small suburban street,” she said.