RFI - Character Issues Reponse

d. An investigation of all options to retain and reuse with removal as a last resort.
e. Consideration of the Burra Charter principles”

Response: Setting aside the obvious professional smear included in this Item of Council’s
Information Request letter and outlining the alleged inadequacies of the heritage reporting
prepared for the current application, there appears to be some equally obvious shortfalls in
the author’s own understanding of both the provisions of Council’s planning scheme in
relation to the Heritage overlay (and corresponding Heritage overlay code) as well as relevant
heritage assessment requirements and processes more broadly.
Please note the following:

It is noted that Section 13.16.2 (f) (iii) of the Noosa Plan outlines a list of six (6) local heritage
places situated within the Cooroy-Maple Street Character Area; as follows:
“iii. Heritage Sites within Schedule 3 of the planning scheme are protected including—
a. Former Cooroy Butter Factory (Art Gallery), c.1930 – 11 Maple Street;
b. Former Ferguson’s Auctioneer’s Office, c. 1910 – 21 Maple Street;
c. The Memorial Hall, c.1926 – 23-29 Maple Street;
d. Cooroy Post Office, c.1914 – 33 Maple Street;
e. Methodist (Uniting) Church and Church Hall, c.1911 – 51 Maple Street;
f. Peachy’s House, c.1929 – 68 Maple Street.”

It is further noted that the subject site at 45 Maple Street, Cooroy has not been identified in
this planning scheme extract as one of the local heritage places located within this particular
Character Area. It is acknowledged that the subject house is definitely an early residential
building (i.e. a character building) and is situated within a designated character area under the
Heritage overlay (refer to relevant definition: “character buildings means buildings within a
character area that contribute positively to the identified character of the area and may
include buildings that represent periods or styles that predominate within the character area
but have not been listed as a heritage site.” – refer to see Heritage Overlay general
provisions; Part 13, Division 5 of the Noosa Plan).

However it is also noted that the simple inclusion of the subject house in this overlay as a
character building located within a designated Character Area does not miraculously elevate it
to classification as a heritage place under the planning scheme - as has erroneously been
suggested in the Information Request letter, which is why the subject site continues to be
excluded from the list of Cooroy heritage sites detailed above. It follows that, as the subject
house is definitely not a heritage place, it also does not have any cultural heritage significance
attributed to it that could potentially inform the supposed requirement outlined in the
Information Request letter for: “Assessment of the significance of the site and its significance
in the Character Area;” (Item 3 (a)). Hence this alleged “issue” raised by Council is considered
to be ill-founded and based upon a significant misreading of the relevant planning scheme
provisions applicable to the subject site.




                                  19125 20200601 45 Maple Street, Cooroy_Heritage Info Req. response 6 | P a g e