Residents’ bid to attain heritage listed status for Turner turned down

Jessie RichardsonDecember 7, 2020

The ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal have decided in favour of the ACT Heritage Council’s decision to not list a group of residential buildings in Turner.

Members of the Turner Residents Association launched an appeal against the ACT Heritage Council’s decision, after they sought the heritage listing of the properties in August 2012. With the support of the National Trust of Australia (ACT), residents nominated the precinct for its Garden City design values.

In 2013, the ACT Heritage Council decided against giving the properties heritage status, citing better examples of Garden City planning in Canberra. Henry Gardner and Nicola Watson, of the Turner Residents Association, lodged an application of review of the decision.

At the recent hearing, Gardner and Watson argued that the Turner precinct should be preserved as an example of Garden City planning, a form of urban design implemented by town planners in the early 1900s.

However, the council claimed that the precinct in question in Turner was not distinguishable from other examples of Garden City planning in Canberra, and in some aspects was inferior in execution, or damaged. They also noted that significant redevelopment had already occurred, damaging the integrity of the precinct’s historical significance.

The tribunal agreed with the council that the Turner precinct did not meet the Heritage Act’s criteria for a heritage listed precinct, confirming the council’s decision.

In the past, Gardner, Watson, and other members of the Turners Residents Association have voiced their concern over new property developments in Turner.

jrichardson@propertyobserver.com.au

 


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