RE: The Real Question: Can We Afford To Reject It? (letter, April 30).
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In his letter, Peter Rogers asked if we can afford to reject it.
He likened the proposed Bathurst Integrated Medical Centre to the Bathurst Post Office building - an unfortunate comparison, given this 1970s Brutalist box is one of the most universally hated buildings in town.
Imposed by the Commonwealth, it sits in total contradiction to the heritage public school and Presbyterian Church at its flanks and the historic shop facades opposite.
Again, Bathurst is being coerced into accepting an ugly modernist box in the heart of our heritage city.
If the proposed medical centre were a block of flats or an office block, locals would be rightly up in arms, demanding a rethink.
But because the proposal is for a vital "private hospital", we are being told that there is a social licence to proceed and that we should all just sit down and shut up.
The refusal of developer Zauner Construction to seriously consider sites inside the Health Precinct, or to modify the cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all design to meet LEP height restrictions, is very disconcerting.
Council and community groups have met the developers and suggested alternatives that would see more acceptable outcomes.
But we are told that a straight up and down, six-storey box is more convenient for the FIFO specialists. Take it or leave it.
The argument should not be about the convenience of the entitled few, but the lifestyle choices of the many.
People choose to live in Bathurst in large part for its low-rise rural feel, heritage streetscapes, significant historic buildings, parks, gardens and heritage homes.
RECENT LETTERS TO THE EDITOR:
If this development goes ahead, council is sure to receive a raft of similar high-rise DAs using the BIMC as a precedent.
In years to come, our grandchildren and visitors to our town will ask "how did you let them build those ugly boxes", just as people now ask about the post office.
So, Mr Rogers, can we afford to reject it? Yes, we can and we should. We must insist on a location and/or design that protects our heritage assets and the wishes of all our community.
