Heritage home owner at Kangaroo Point defends his plan to add a 15-storey unit complex to the site

THE owner of a historic Brisbane house has defended their scheme to develop a 15-storey unit complex on the property.

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THE owner of a historic Brisbane house has defended plans to develop a 15-storey unit complex on the property to ensure the future integrity of the heritage home.

Chris Snape, who has owned the property for seven years, has been criticised after applying to build 42 units around the 1880s home on the 1400sq m Kangaroo Point property.

Thornclyffe, a Victorian-style residence, was added to the local heritage register because it demonstrated the “desirability of the area for upper middle class residents” in the 1880s.

Kangaroo Point heritage home owners Chris and Nicki Snape defend their right to develop the property.

Mr Snape said it was hard to sell the property because no one wanted to buy a protected home that was surrounded by high-rises looking down on to the tin-and-timber house.

He said its location made it unsuitable to continue raising his family but was ideal for a high-­density development.

“We want to see a development go in that will not only enhance the area but also the house,” Mr Snape said.

“The design has covered that. We’ve gone to all sorts of lengths to ensure that.”

An artist’s impression of how the heritage property would look with the unit complex.

Plans lodged with Brisbane City Council show the house, which faces partial demolition, would become a common area for residents to use. Original aspects of the home would be retained. A 2m wall around the property would be demolished to open it to the streetscape.

“We want the house to be made available to residents but we want it to be protected, which is what the body corporate would do,” Mr Snape said.

Council has received 44 objections to the development, including from Gabba Ward councillor Jonathan Sri, with key concerns around the breach of the neighbourhood’s 10-storey height limit.

“Approving this development is in direct conflict with the relevant neighbourhood plan, with local residents’ expectations and with the broader public interest,” Cr Sri wrote in his submission.

“I urge you to reject this application.”