The developers of Launceston’s CH Smith site and the Heritage Protection Society (Tasmania) have been given seven days to find common ground.
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An appeal over the redevelopment was submitted to the Resource Management and Planning Appeal Tribunal by the society on February 14. The Examiner understands that prior to a directions hearing on Thursday a meeting was held between the two parties and a tentative agreement was formed.
President of the society Lionel Morrell said halting the complete development had never been the group’s intention.
“We strenuously said, even before the development application went in, that our concerns were a discreet concern about the interior of number 22 Charles Street and that we had no intention of holding up the rest of the development,” he said.
“In fact, we wrote to the developers enthusiastically supporting their development as long ago as November last year.”
Mr Morrell said the whole of the three-storey grain store, built in 1860, was of historical significance not just the facade.
“We now understand that the design can be altered to retain those floors, columns and beam structures inside the old grain store which was essentially our concern,” he said.
“There is a popular misconception by the public that we should only ever be interested in the front of a building, that’s untrue. International conventions, which in Australia is called the Burra Charter, states that it is the whole building, there has to be a context and not just streetscapes.”
The old store and the adjacent residence was first constructed prior to 1860 for George Fry, who established the horticultural gardens, which formed half of City Park.
“Members of the horticultural society were all the notable landowners of Woolmers, Clarendon, Entally and many more and all of their gardens and parklands were supplied with plants from George Fry,” Mr Morrell said.
“He also imported all the important grazing grasses that created pasture lands for the sheep, wool, cattle and cropping industries in Tasmania, and then exported to Victoria and even as far afield as New Zealand.”
CH Smith developer Errol Stewart said he thought it was better to compromise rather than argue.
“At this stage we have almost got [a plan] and we think we can make it work with the floor levels at 22 Charles Street,” he said.