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| Great history: John Arnold at work on a Millers Point house. Photo: Tamara Dean |
Sydney lord mayor Clover Moore and the National Trust have condemned the decision, which has raised fears the heritage-listed homes will not be properly restored, and left idle for years before being redeveloped or sold.
The government is selling 293 properties at Millers Point and The Rocks, evicting about 600 public housing tenants and potentially earning hundreds of millions of dollars in sales proceeds.
In 2008 under the previous Labor government, 29 Millers Point properties were sold on 99-year leases. Owners were legally obliged to carry out conservation work within two years, plus further work in the medium and long term.
Owners paid a heritage bond – in some cases believed to be up to $175,000 – to guarantee work was properly completed. Approved heritage professionals were required to design and certify work, and compliance checks were conducted.
However, home buyers under the Coalition government will be relieved of such stringent obligations.
A “heritage handbook” sent to prospective buyers says no repair work is required as a condition of purchase, aside from basic maintenance such as ensuring the property is watertight.
No bond will be required, and the use of heritage-qualified professionals to oversee the work is recommended, not mandatory.
In Parliament last week, Liberal MP Barry O’Farrell, who was premier when the Millers Point sell-off was announced, said claims that heritage at Millers Point was at risk were “outrageous and false”.
"We know that [homes] will be better maintained, restored and preserved," he said, accusing critics of "hysteria".
Cr Moore said the eviction of residents threatened the social significance of Millers Point, and the government was now “washing their hands of responsibility” for built heritage.
Independent Sydney MP Alex Greenwich✓ said the relaxed rules may lead to “land banking”, whereby “people just buy a property so they’ve got the asset, and then they leave it”.
National Trust NSW chief executive Brian Scarsbrick✓ was concerned that “individual houses will be aggregated into large modern redevelopments and, even with some token facade conservation, the real heritage values of Millers Point will not survive".
A Department of Family and Community Services spokeswoman said conservation plans for each property will recommend a “maintenance schedule”, and authorities such as the City of Sydney may require that heritage professionals be hired.
Fairfax Media has also learnt the government also plans to offer current owners on 99-year leases a conversion to freehold titles, in exchange for payment. The plan would give state authorities less control over the properties than lease arrangements.
John McInerney, who bought a Millers Point home under a 99-year lease, said restoring a heritage property could be difficult, and removing legal obligations meant “the heritage of the area will suffer in the long run”.
Public housing tenant John Arnold, who has done maintenance on several properties, said many were badly rundown but “working on these old heritage places … you can quite often stumble across some great history”.
With Leesha McKenny
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/heritage-rules-scrapped-for-millers-point-buyers-20140811-102xqc.html
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