Heritage Listings !

The ultimate disaster for many people is to find that the local council has slapped a heritage listing on the home they occupy.   That prevents them making any sort of alterations and in most cases even dictates the colour of paint they may use.  A heritage listing does not prevent it from being offered for sale, but it usually does reduce both price and interest sharply.

The residents of one Sydney suburb were surprised to find that a heritage order suddenly applied to a whole street of houses.   They were identical clones originally built by the Housing Commission and someone on council thought that an example of the architecture of that period should be preserved for posterity.

There is no compensation for having a heritage order imposed and multiple risks apply.  The home may have been designed by an architect who is now considered famous and an example of his or her work needs to be preserved.   A former owner or tenant may have been a notable general, prime minister or even a notorious underworld figure who enhanced the history of this country.

Few would disagree that the famous sandstone warehouses located at " the Rocks " in Sydney should be protected  by such an order but it now seems that this attempt to " stop the clock " is being extended to architecture in the city centre.  To their dismay, the owners of Sydney Masonic Centre, the County Council buildings in George street and the William Bland Centre in Macquarie street are all being considered for this listing.

They are deemed to be examples of the "Modern Movement Architecture " that some boffins claim we need to preserve and this could ever widen.  There is conjecture that a similar heritage listing may be placed on the massive MLC building in the centre of the city.

What is different is these proposed listings take on the big end of town.   The land value in the heart of Sydney is worth a fortune and many of these buildings will ultimately face demolition to make way for new skyscrapers when Sydney airport moves to Badgerys creek.   At present, the airport at Mascot imposes a height limit on the centre of the city.

Building owners have conducted their own report and this claims few of the buildings proposed for listing are in " opriginal " condition.  Most have had lightweight cladding added and paint has been applied over the raw original concrete exteriors and the interior layout no longer meets the standards required for office accommodation.

It seems that an interesting fight is brewing.  Sydney is under challenge from a fast developing Parramatta and if the brakes are put on inner city development the heart of Sydney may move to the west.  This will clash with big money interests - and the power they wield.  This is now something that will be decided in the political arena.

Unfortunartely, for the person in the suburbs with a home subjected to a heritage order that solution is not usually available.