Demolition at Rathdonnell St in Auchenflower rocks street of character residences

UPDATE: The demolition of a pre-1946 home in Brisbane’s inner-west has left residents ‘devastated’ and put Brisbane City Council and the State Government at loggerheads.

• Heritage home: Auchenflower home owners question demolition

ENVIRONMENT Minister Steven Miles has slammed Brisbane City Council’s handling of the city’s heritage following the demolition of a pre-1946 home in Auchenflower.

“It’s emblematic of what’s happening in many suburbs like those that I represent where we have a council with insufficient regard for our streetscapes and our history,” he said.

“The Brisbane City Council needs to step up and protect our historic homes. It’s their job.

But Brisbane City Council’s City Planning Chairman Julian Simmonds was quick to fire back, saying the State Government should change state planning laws if Mr Miles believed they were failing to protect heritage homes.

“With its 1990s stucco façade, this house was not a representative example of pre-1946 architecture and was not consistent with surrounding Queenslander-style homes,” Cr Simmonds said.

“This council has protected more heritage and character homes than any other administration in Brisbane’s history, and has taken steps to increase the number of protected century-old and pre-war homes.

“With these comments, Minister Miles is suggesting owners should be forced to keep homes with no historic value right across Brisbane.

“Council’s decision was in accordance with the provisions of the Minister’s own State Government planning laws and if he now believes his own laws are inadequate, he should change them.”

Residents of the inner-Brisbane suburb are “devastated” after the home was razed to make way for a new development following an expensive legal feud.

John and Susan Gallagher: “We feel very let-down by a council we thought had a duty to protect Brisbane’s heritage.” Picture: Annette Dew

A wrecking crew moved in to rip down the two-storey house with a stucco facade on Rathdonnell St in Auchenflower yesterday after an appeal of a council decision to approve the demolition was withdrawn.

One of the wrecking crew told a local “we’ve come to squash a house” before the home was demolished.

John and Susan Gallagher, who own the heritage-listed Rathdonnell House ­behind the development site, were meant to have their ­appeal heard in the Planning and Environment Court next month. But Mrs Gallagher said they could not afford to continue the action after spending $100,000 then being advised it could cost up to $250,000 if they lost.

The pre-1946 Auchenflower house being ripped down. Picture: Liam Kidston

“John and I are devastated at the loss of this house, and what will go up in its place will change the face of Rathdonnell St forever,” Mrs Gallagher said.

“We feel very let-down by a council we thought had a duty to protect Brisbane’s heritage.”

Mrs Gallagher said she and her husband had been prepared to buy the house, but at mediation were told by the owner he would accept “nothing under $2 million”.

Council records show the owners of the demolition site plan to build a three-storey home of 9.5m in height.

An application for the demolition of the home was lodged with council in December, 2014, before it was ticked off a few weeks later. The appeal was lodged in April this year.

Demolition of 16 Rathdonnell St, Auchenflower. Picture: Liam Kidston

Mr Gallagher said: “Laws need to be changed so people can be told in advance when there is a demolition application.”

About 100 people attended a rally last week, and almost 1000 people signed a Facebook protest page.

Neighbour George Pavlu, who said he had lived next to the property for 30 years, described the demolition as “urbicide”. “It’s genocide against buildings,” he said.

“The neighbourhood is losing its heritage value. We’re demolishing everything and it’s erasing all traces of building and heritage memory.”