It's hard to comprehend the thought process behind some of the decisions being made by those with the power to rule on Canberra's heritage.
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Today, the Sunday Canberra Times reveals that the ACT Heritage Council rejected a community-driven proposal to build a bike track, intended primarily for children, within the heritage-registered Halls Creek 'Aboriginal Sites Zone'.
The decision was made despite a heritage consultants' report finding the project would have had minimal heritage impact and which proposed measures, adjusted after consultation with representative Aboriginal organisations, to mitigate any harm.
This is the same ACT Heritage Council that said it accepted the ACT government's decision not to take further action over the demolition of a pre-1900 stone cottage on a heritage-listed Hall block, after a government investigation found the destruction "may have been an unfortunate misunderstanding".
In one case we have a council that acts of the guardian of heritage, saying the bike track proposal did not provide "adequate justification to permanently damage a heritage place", even when experts have come up with a way to mitigate harm assessed as minor.
In the case of the demolished cottage, a loss of heritage that has enraged members of the Hall community, the council is missing in action.
Before the Sunday Canberra Times visited Hall to photograph residents upset by the cottage demolition in front of the site on which it stood, three residents had agreed to meet for the picture.
When a reporter and photographer arrived, there were nine residents waiting in the street. Before they had assembled for the photo, another two people emerged from a nearby house and joined the group.
This is a clear illustration of the dismay the Hall community feels after the loss of a significant building.
The ACT Heritage Council, by declaring it accepts the government investigation's findings and moving on, has done little to reassure Canberrans that our heritage is safe.
But in the case of the bike track, which 57 of the 63 people who participated in Hall community consultation were in favour of, the council appears to be enforcing its authority in a way not welcomed by the majority.
Canberra, as a relatively young city, has limited heritage compared to many places around the world, and indeed, other parts of Australia.
It is important to protect what we've got, while also not being too heavy-handed on proposals that would benefit the community and cause minimal harm.