A battle over the fate of a worker’s cottage in Howick Street raged in the council chambers on Wednesday night, but in the end a rescission motion to stop its demolition was lost.
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The rescission motion had been signed by councillors Graeme Hanger, Jess Jennings and Gary Rush.
However, Bathurst Regional Council ultimately voted for the derelict house at 311 Howick Street to come down.
Sandy Bathgate of the Bathurst 2036 Heritage Action Group said the building’s defects were not terminal.
He added that the cottage was unique, and that although councillors were told it was a typical late Victorian cottage, there was nothing typical about it.
Mr Bathgate said the statement of heritage impact says the streetscape and building are not unique and similar ones are located in most streets at a similar distance from the CBD.
“A worker’s cottage is just as important as the courthouse.”
- Angus McKibbon
The report added that Bathurst has many examples of similar houses to the one proposed to be demolished.
“So you were entitled to believe that this cottage was just one of many,” Mr Bathgate said. “These statements are totally wrong.”
He said the National Trust had done a comprehensive survey of all buildings in the central conservation area.
“There are only eight single fronted brick cottages with concave front veranda roofs in the whole Central Heritage Conservation Area,” Mr Bathgate said.
“This building is unique. If this unique building is demolished it will be a travesty, and the integrity of Bathurst’s heritage will suffer.”
Well-known Bathurst resident Angus McKibbon also spoke at the meeting of the hundreds of heritage buildings in Bathurst that had been demolished over the years.
“What is Bathurst going to look like if we lose another hundred,” he said. “Now is the time to think about that.
“Why is Bathurst celebrating Bathurst200? Because of its history.
“A worker’s cottage is just as important as the courthouse.”
President of the National Trust in Bathurst Iain McPherson also spoke on behalf of saving the building.
“This is a little building, a unique building, there’s no other building in Bathurst exactly like this one,” Mr McPherson said.
“It was loved and looked after. And as we celebrate our 200th anniversary, it’s still there.”
However, well-known local developer Bruce Bolam, who stressed he had no direct or indirect financial interest in the property, and had never met the owners, felt in this case the building should come down.
“We cherish the city’s many heritage homes, many heritage buildings, but we are not a museum,” Mr Bolam said.
