A GROUP of neighbouring property owners are working together to restore a historic Bathurst property, the Gladstone Terrace.
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The row of five terrace houses on Bentinck Street has an interesting history.
Built in 1888 by a syndicate of local developers, the building was named after British prime minister William Ewart Gladstone and has been used for residential and commercial purposes.
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The terraces are now individually owned, with nine owners in total who have lived there for between 18 months and 20 years: Professor Peter Kuch, Damien and Kristina Sotter, Greg and Sharon Stanley, Bernadette and Grant Phillips, and Simon Snare and Alice Wood.
Each one has an appreciation for heritage, so when the Sotters were preparing to undertake some work on their own property, they reached out to the others for input.
"I decided that I was going to renovate and restore my upstairs veranda flooring and with that triggered conversation about colours for the iron work and the railings, so I put a question out," Mrs Sotter said.
"... It was an opportunity to create quite a project and everyone was on board."
As a group, they decided to restore the building's facade.
A development application was lodged and approved earlier this year. Work is under way and expected to be complete by June.
The group has worked closely with Bathurst Regional Council and heritage experts to ensure the restoration works are appropriate, and have engaged local tradespeople for the job.
The owners of each home are making an equal financial contribution to the project and have worked collaboratively on the plans.
"To get five different groups of people to come to a conclusion and a decision on colours and styles, what we're going to do and costs, I think that's pretty special," Mrs Stanley said.
The friendships formed between the owners is an important, and somewhat surprising, aspect to this project, as the newest owner, Professor Kuch, can attest to.
"I left a very supportive environment and I know a few people around town, but not many, and I felt a really warm welcome here," he said.
The owners think it is extremely important to protect and preserve local heritage and look forward to seeing the end result for the Gladstone Terrace.
"I just think it is really important to maintain part of our history," Mrs Sotter said.
"We were talking about this a few meetings ago, all of our children are learning history as part of school curriculum and a lot of history is not being taught, and as a result a lot of it is being lost.
"I think it's important to maintain and have a voice for certain aspects of history, and we've all got an opportunity to be part of that for this history, and we're all very keen on voicing and protecting it."
Mrs Stanley added that the style of the terraces are irreplaceable.
"They just don't make them like this anymore. The extra height in the ceilings, all the little finishes, a lot of it is now man-made and things by machines, but I think this style of home you just can't replace," she said.
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