firstly, the Minister had erred in his interpretation of "financial hardship" and.MPCA challenged the Minister's decision essentially on two bases: This could potentially represent foregone funds for additional social housing. "whatever the heritage significance" of the building, even at its highest, this is outweighed by the "undue financial hardship" its listing would cause its owner by diminishing what would otherwise be its sale value.the building "may" meet the threshold of State heritage significance, but there were conflicting views as to whether as an example of Brutalist architecture it had such merit as to be of State heritage significance and.However, the Minister's published decision expressly stated that having "considered the matters set out in section 32(1)", he had determined not to accept the Council's recommendation. In this instance, the Minister was exercising the power under section 34 of the Act which simply required him to decide whether to list the building or not, and advise the Council of the decision. One of these is that the Minister must decide whether or not to direct the listing, and then inform the Council of the decision. Section 34 sets out the Minister's obligations when the Council makes a recommendation for a listing. Under section 32, the Minister can direct the Council to list an item on the Register, but only if the Council has recommended that the item be listed and the Minister has considered various matters, including whether the listing would cause "undue financial hardship to the owner". To understand why it mounted the challenge, you need a bit of background on the Heritage Act. ( MPCA), under the open standing provisions of the Act which permit any person to bring proceedings to restrain or remedy a breach of the Act. It was this decision that was challenged by a resident action group, Millers Point Community Association Inc. The Minister is not bound by the Council's recommendation, and in July 2016 decided not to list the building. The Minister decides not to list the Sirius building In December 2015, the Council was satisfied that Sirius was of sufficient aesthetic and rarity value to warrant its listing, and made that recommendation to the Minister. Property NSW said the fall in value could be as great as $70 million. The Council, established under the Heritage Act 1977 (NSW), advises the Minister for Heritage on matters of State heritage significance, including recommendations for listing.īoth Property NSW and LAHC strongly objected to any listing, because it would adversely affect the value of the property, and therefore how much the Government would receive from the proposed sale. In response to the Government's announcement of the proposed sale, the National Trust of Australia (NSW) nominated Sirius for listing on the State's Heritage Register to the NSW Heritage Council. The building is owned by Property NSW and leased to New South Wales Land and Housing Corporation ( LAHC). Constructed in the 1980s in a Brutalist architecture style, the building enjoys expansive views across Sydney Harbour, including the Sydney Opera House. One public housing building in a prominent location in the Rocks identified for sale was the "Sirius" building. Since 2014, the NSW Government has adopted a policy of selling public housing stock in iconic locations such as Millers Point and the Rocks in Sydney the proceeds of those sales are to be invested in new public housing. The sell-off of the Sirius building and the recommendation for heritage listing It does, however, have its defenders, and their battle to protect an example of it has also given us some better insight into the State's heritage laws, in particular how the Minister can determine a heritage listing might cause the owner undue financial hardship, or decline to list a building (Millers Point Community Assoc. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder ‒ a proverb that might have been invented for Brutalist architecture.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |