Council approves subdivision plan for heritage house

A southeast Queensland council has approved a plan to subdivide the property featuring a historic house built in 1894. 

Hamewith House on Drayton Rd, Harristown.

THE Toowoomba Regional Council has approved a plan to subdivide the property featuring a historic 19th-century house in Harristown.

Barry and Janice Christison, the current owners of the heritage-listed Hamewith House, received the green light this week to cut the 1.3-hectare property on Drayton Rd in half, creating a horse-shoe lot with access easements on either side.

According to Santoshi Development Consultants' Deepak Kumar, the second lot would be used to create a new development with several tenancies.

Plan for Hamewith House, Harristown.

In a response to an information request by the council, Mr Kumar said the plan would not affect or impact Hamewith House, while also making use of the land behind the structure.

"A subdivision was chosen because the outhouses were of no significance, contained asbestos, uninhabitable and now approved for demolition," he wrote on September 4.

"Once demolished it will leave a barren landscape around the house which is of no value in the low-medium residential zone within which the site resides.

"The most effective use was deemed to be a subdivision which paid respects to the house by retaining significant vegetation and still meeting all requirements for lot sizes and setbacks whilst provisioning for potential future development."

In the assessment report, TRC senior planner Richard Green recommended the approval, agreeing the proposal did not affect the heritage status of Hamewith House.

"The proposed reconfiguration ensures that the recommended minimum site curtilage around Hamewith House is preserved, ensuring the immediate surrounds and general setting of the residence is wholly contained within a single lot," he wrote.

"In this regard, the proposed subdivision does not impact on the cultural heritage significance of the place."

Hamewith House was built as "Montacute" in 1894 for Arthur Henry Thompson Beelbe, a talented sportsman, singer and accountant.

He sold the property in 1914 to Dr David Horn, who re-named it Hamewith House and converted it into a learning facility for children with intellectual disabilities.

After he died in 1952, a set of gates were erected outside the property in his memory.

Originally published as Council approves subdivision plan for heritage house