The owners of a heritage-registered homestead south of Canberra have described advice from the government's heritage unit as often ineffective and inaccurate.
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The century-old Cuppacumbalong Homestead and surrounds near Tharwa is protected by the ACT's heritage laws.
But the homestead's business manager, Amanda Pollok, said poor advice and delays in communication have made it very difficult to manage the property in line with the heritage rules.
"As a small business we are trying to abide by all the requirements associated with a historic property, but the directorate we are supposed to receive direction and support from fails us time after time. This costs us time and money and makes it incredibly difficult to function," Ms Pollok said in a submission to an inquiry into the ACT's heritage system.
Ms Pollok said a report on internal timbers in the homestead commissioned by the heritage unit had identified modern MDF as being "significant fabric" of the historical construction.
"We are required to keep records and inform the directorate of changes to the homestead but they themselves have limited records of what has been undertaken by previous owners," she said.
"The property was in a very poor state when the current owners took ownership in 2017. Modifications [and] alterations to the site were done so without building [or] heritage approvals and limited records kept."
Ms Pollok said it was often unclear what it meant to obtain approvals from the heritage unit for works undertaken at the property.
"Their incredibly long response times affect our ability to operate, plan works, and to create timelines and budgets," she said.
The homestead was built in 1923 and faces east towards the Murrumbidgee River near Tharwa.
The Legislative Assembly's standing committee on environment, climate change and biodiversity launched an inquiry into the ACT's heritage system in December.
Heritage Minister Rebecca Vassarotti has told the inquiry an interim heritage council would be put in place in April, with terms of reference for the body which will serve for at least a year.
Ms Vassarotti was handed a consultants' report in November that founded strained relationships between the heritage council and inefficient heritage systems presented an "imminent risk to ACT heritage sites".
Ms Vassarotti terminated the appointments of all council members and announced a separate internal government review of the ACT's heritage system.
Former council member Professor Nicholas Brown told the inquiry the role and resourcing of the council ought to be expanded to allow for more proactive work, including on evaluating cumulative impacts on heritage precincts.
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Professor Brown made a submission on behalf of Manning Clark House, a heritage-registered property in Forest run by a not-for-profit cultural organisation in the former home of the historian and his family.
Professor Brown's submission said development applications that touch on heritage issues should be brought before the heritage council with enough time for appropriate consideration.
"While there seems to be a public perception that the ACT Heritage Council has the capacity and responsibility to decide on such development proposals, in practice - and in my experience - the council can effectively only review nominations that are made to it by members of the community seeking to determine the heritage status of particular objects, sites or places," he wrote.
"While the council is advised of development applications (in a most cursory way, again in my experience) it has no power, and certainly not the resources, to comment let alone decide on those applications unless they are directly related to a nomination."
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Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
