Peel Street cottage gets the green light for demolition

Bathurst Regional Council has given the green light for a decaying cottage to be demolished and replaced with a new house that will recreate many of the original features.

The house will be built on the same block of Peel Street, located in the heritage conservation area, as two controversial unit complex developments council approved in recent months.

READ MORE: Approval of units sparks broader conversation about development in Bathurst

While some concerns were raised about the demolition of the house at 227 Peel Street, councillors were satisfied that the plans would be respectful of the area's heritage when they approved the development application on July 20.

Councillor Marg Hogan noted that the owners were "keen to do the right thing", and hoped that they would replicate the front of the existing cottage in the new build.

However, during public forum at the July 20 council meeting, a representative of the Bathurst branch of the National Trust maintained that the cottage should not be demolished at all.

Branch chairman Wayne Feebrey said the assessment that the cottage had "no architectural merit" contradicted the owners' plans.

"The age, style and materials used here represent an increasingly rare Bathurst building, that of the simple single-storey, wooden house built for the average family of the time period," he said.

"If the original building has no historical or architectural merit, as we are told in the heritage statement, it has to be asked why the proposed new build chooses to replicate so many of the original features and includes the retention of the original chimney. "

He also said that information laid out in the heritage impact statement "does not justify the demolition of the cottage".

The report provided by council staff, though, noted that the internal inspection of the building revealed major damage through every part of the building. The external inspection also found substantial damage.

While the dwelling has a high Bathurst Conservation Area Management Strategy (BCAMS) rating, it was concluded that the building in its current state would have required significant reconstruction work that would ultimately alter the original fabric of the cottage.

Council staff had recommended that consent be given to the proposal to demolish the cottage and build a new dwelling on the site.

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