Barangaroo Tower Should Stay: experts

Going down: the harbour control tower at Barangaroo is slated for demolition. Photo: David Porter

It is hardly a classic beauty, it occupies prime real estate and does not serve much purpose. But that is no reason the harbour control tower at Barangaroo should be obliterated from the skyline, heritage boffins say.


The state government's own heritage experts have panned a proposal by the Barangaroo Delivery Authority to demolish the 87-metre-tall structure, saying the plan is ''inadequate'' and failed to properly measure the tower's heritage importance.


The National Trust derided the proposal as ''seriously deficient'' and the City of Sydney wants the tower kept as an artwork or public lookout.

View of history: artist Jane Bennett paints the scene in March. Photo: Steven Siewert

A similar shipping tower at Melbourne's Docklands precinct is set to be restored and may be opened for public use.

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The 40-year-old tower is the most striking reminder of Sydney Harbour's commercial shipping past, and gave maritime controllers sweeping views of the coastline. It has not been used since 2011 when operations moved to Port Botany.


Authorities say the tower is not in keeping with the vision of a ''naturalistic'' headland park being built at Barangaroo and want it knocked down. Its absence would be marked by a circular roof opening in a new underground cultural space, creating a shaft of light to represent the tower's column.


Perhaps few will bemoan the tower's loss – over the years it has been dubbed the ''concrete mushroom'' and a ''hypodermic in God's bum''.


The Barangaroo Delivery Authority claimed the structure does not comply with present building codes, there was limited commercial interest in re-using it and night-time lighting may interrupt stargazers at the nearby Sydney Observatory.


But the director of the Office of Environment's Heritage Division, Tracey Avery, said in a submission the proposal was ''inadequate''. It failed to include detail on re-use options, structural assessment and public consultation, and a report on heritage impacts ''lacked rigour'' and did not address the potential state significance of the tower.


The City of Sydney said in a submission the tower was a ''monumental engineering structure''. It should be re-used as ''an artwork, landmark or observatory'' and would create ''a unique public viewing opportunity and attraction''.


The National Trust also slammed the heritage assessment and has sought an interim heritage order.
NSW Heritage Council chairman Lawrence Nield said a committee of the council has recommended the order be granted, and found the tower may have state heritage significance.


''I'm sure many people don't like it, but I'm sure many people do … heritage doesn't necessarily revolve around aesthetics,'' he said.


A Barangaroo Delivery Authority spokesman said it explored artistic, commercial and tourism uses for the tower but ''significant access, structural and liability issues'' dampened interest. He said the tower was not listed as a heritage item on the state register or in City of Sydney plans.


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