By James Robertson
The controversial Sirius building on the edge of the Rocks is a step closer to demolition after the NSW government again declined to grant the brutalist former social-housing block heritage status and protection from redevelopment.
NSW Environment Minister Gabrielle Upton announced on Wednesday that she had declined to grant the heritage status, moving a proposal to demolish and redevelop it into a $120-million apartment redevelopment to completion.
"My role is to decide whether the building has aesthetic value and, if so, whether that value is such as to satisfy [heritage value] at a state level," Ms Upton wrote in a decision published on Wednesday. "While the Sirius building is distinctive, in my view, it is not a landmark worthy of state heritage protection."
The announcement comes after a previous decision by Ms Upton's predecessor not to list the building was overturned in the Land and Environment Court in July, after the state government was found to have "side-stepped" its obligation to consider the building's heritage value and misapplied the law.
The state government again declined to grant the Sirius building heritage status. Credit: Jessica Hromas
Shaun Carter, the chairman of the Save Our Sirius action group and former president of the NSW Institute of Architects, said it was unsurprising the state government had decided to resubmit its application.
But he said the coalition of activists that had been fighting the government's plans since 2014 would immediately seek advice from the Environmental Defenders Office about a legal appeal.
"If there's one millimetre of space to take this back to court, we will," he said. "We will stay that course, even if that means we are arm-in-arm in front of bulldozers."
The minister's office declined to comment on whether the decision could be open to further appeal.
Environment Minister Environment Minister Gabrielle Upton says while the Sirius building is distinctive it does not have heritage value.
The state's Heritage Council unanimously recommended listing the Sirius in a recommendation made in early 2016.
The MP for Sydney, Alex Greenwich, said the state government's decision to ignore expert advice was "appalling" and motivated by a desire to push up the building's sale price.
The Save Our Sirus sign that lights up at night. The state government has floated plans to redevelop the site and invest the proceeds in new social housing.Credit: James Brickwood
"The inner city has lost another community asset and social housing [...] completing the 'social cleansing' of the area," he said. "Sirius was recommended for protection by the Heritage Council, the National Trust and the Australian Institute of Architects and is one of 25 sites worldwide sites included on the World Monuments Fund 2018 watchlist."
Architects, local community members, the state's opposition and Lord Mayor Clover Moore have all argued that the building should remain and that any redevelopment could potentially crowd out lines of sight to the Opera House.
Mr Carter said that the state government had been approached with plans to sell the site while keeping it on the heritage register but declined.
Estimates filed in court suggest the state government could fetch upwards of $120 million in proceeds for redeveloping the site but that figure would drop by as much as $70 million if it were retained on the heritage register but sold.
The state government has said that the sale of the 79-unit site would enable the construction of another up to 240 social-housing units elsewhere.
Built more than 30 years ago to allow working class residents to remain in The Rocks during a period of major construction, the Sirius building followed the Green Bans movement of the 1960s and 1970s. The building's remaining two residents are being relocated.
"It's the only building that's come out of a social movement that wasn't local, wasn't just state-based but international," Mr Carter said.
But he argued that its status as a symbol of the left of politics had made its demolition a priority for the Liberal state government.
Treasurer Dominic Perrottet described the building as "about as sexy as [a] car park".