Professional Associations
Recently, the new legislation introduced by the NSW State Government from the Department of Planning and Environment, promotes affordable housing in areas around certain stations. In particular, the rezoning of land and construction of new housing pertains to the new Metro line. This plan will be carried out in several suburbs within Sydney and beyond. Invariably, new development prescribed by the Transport Oriented Development (TOD) legislation will affect existing Heritage Conservation Areas (HCAs) and heritage-listed buildings. To date, some rough legislation around HCAs has been sketched out, but by no means with great clarity.
Notwithstanding, it is likely that there will be a lot of conflict in relation to these areas. 31 precincts were initially identified for further development, but changes by the State Government have only occurred within 18 areas. Generally, councils represent NIMBYism (Not-In-My-Back-Yard), whereas the State Government represents YIMBYism (Yes-In-My-Back-Yard). Will ever the twain meet? The devil is in the detail.
Firstly, not all HCAs identify exactly which heritage buildings are ‘detracting’, ‘neutral’ or ‘contributory’.
Secondly, setbacks around new and heritage-listed buildings in TODs, are likely to generate political and legal contention.
Heritage 21 has a lot of expertise in this area. We look forward to being involved in many of these actions by assisting with non-tendentious expertise, provided to applicants, developers, councils and the State Government/the Department of Planning and Environment, if necessary. Our aim is to find the best way for heritage and housing to continue together.
This is an open invitation to planners, owners, legal representatives, developers and councils to call upon our expertise regarding heritage matters in the new TODs.
Paul Rappoport
Conservation Architect and Heritage Planner
22 July 2024
Image reference: Cheng, Linda. Macquarie Group’s unsolicited proposal for Martin Place, designed by Grimshaw and Johnson Pilton Walker. Photograph. Architecture Australia. June 2, 2017. Two towers proposed for Sydney’s Martin Place | ArchitectureAu
Related Articles
Are we heading for a major showdown on Transport Oriented Development in heritage areas?
Already, the NSW State Government is fighting against Ku-ring-Gai wanting to slap interim heritage orders (IHOs) on its Heritage Conservation…
Read more
Five Fun Facts about Federation-style Heritage Houses
For most heritage experts, discussing the common types of heritage architectural styles in NSW and Australia becomes second nature. However,…
Read more
Incentivising Ownership of Heritage Buildings
In response to the recent enquiry by the government relating to the NSW Heritage Act, I made the following recommendation.…
Read more
Does the NSW Heritage Act Reflect the Expectations of the NSW community?
In the recent NSW Heritage Act inquiry, I submitted a series of recommendations to the government seeking community response in…
Read more
Need help getting started?
Check out our guides.
Common Misunderstandings and Misconceptions of Heritage – Part 1
Heritage is rife with many misconceptions in several areas. Such misunderstandings can result in increasing uncertainties around altering listed properties…
Read more
Creating a space for the experts: Heritage decision-making in NSW
For many years, I’ve been thinking about the cumbersome nature of (especially DAs) heritage approvals in NSW. Given that cultural…
Read more
Quality versus Quantity: How can we reform our heritage lists?
It’s about time that a review is conducted to assess our heritage lists in NSW. We have recently seen heritage…
Read more
Complete the form below to contact us today.