Goldicott House saved from subdivision

RESIDENTS are “over the moon” at news a subdivision that would have carved up a historic Brisbane home to make way for a massive aged care development will be rejected. But they know their fight is not over yet.

Rebecca Kenny said residents were “over the moon” with the council’s decision to reject the development application for Goldicott House. Picture: AAP/Renae Droop

A SUBDIVISION that would have carved up a historic Brisbane house from its grounds to make way for massive aged care development will be rejected.

Brisbane City Council’s planning officers on Tuesday recommended the plan to subdivide the grounds of Goldicott House at Toowong, demolish a pre-war outbuilding and strip the site of its community use be rejected.

After the subdivision, developer Pikos planned to gain approval for 600 aged care beds on the huge Grove Cres, Toowong, site.

The house is sandwiched between Brisbane Boys’ College and St Ignatius School and is on the council and State Government’s heritage registers.

Resident Rebecca Kenny said she was “over the moon” with the decision but the community understood it was not over as the developer, Pikos, had the right to appeal.

Residents have been fighting the plan for more than a year, even before the application was submitted — they made 122 submissions against it and presented a 2631-strong petition.

“With all the negative press that goes on with council and planning and development, it’s really nice to see that as a resident you can make a change,” she said.

“You can stand up and say that’s not right and you can see the system work.”

The council’s decision came despite the State Government’s support to approve the application with conditions.

Cr Julian Simmonds (Walter Taylor) said he was “very pleased for the win for the local community”.

“I’m delighted that the council’s heritage officers have reconsidered the state approval.

“I think it would have been far more ideal if the Labor State Government had been as diligent in protecting the heritage of this site as the council has been.”

The council decided to reject the application because the subdivision and demolition of the heritage outbuilding, ‘the music room’, would erode the heritage setting of the house.

It also said the community use zoning of the site needed to be preserved

It would also put a large strip of vegetation, believed to be mostly native trees, at risk and as of last week, there is now a Vegetation Protection Order on those trees.

The ‘music room’ pre-war outbuilding at the edge of Goldicott House. Picture: AAP Image/Renae Droop

The council’s rejection comes after many other controversial development approvals in Toowong.

The approvals included a childcare centre at heritage Endrim House and the ‘champagne flute’ towers on the river, which has overturned by the Planning and Environment Court this year.

City Planning chairman Matthew Bourke council was committed to protecting Brisbane’s history and that meant “preserving our heritage places, their landscapes, views and settings”.

“This site is a rare, early example of Brisbane housing associated with engineer Charles Lambert Depree, as well as with the important educational, cultural and pastoral work of the site’s former owners, the Sisters of Mercy, having been used as convent since 1903,” he said.

Opposition planning spokesman Jared Cassidy asked Cr Bourke if the council would buy the site for the community.

Cr Bourke said there were no plans to do that but now it was clear to developers that the site should be used for community purposes.

Cr Cassidy said he believed the site was at “a real risk of vandalism”.

“We see time and time again that private sites with significant heritage value are left to go to rack and ruin,” he said.

“If they’re left sitting and idle and unused — and this unused and empty — the risk of vandalism in the least or destruction by fire or anything is high.

“It doesn’t look like there’s any keen interest from the developer to open it up to the community, so this is a perfect opportunity for council to acquire a historic site, preserve it and use it,” he said.

Ms Kenny said Scott Emerson, the former LNP state member for the area, had been integral in the fight and also thanked LNP Cr Julian Simmonds (Walter Taylor) and former Labor candidate for Maiwar Ali King.

The council will finalise the decision on Tuesday, next week.