Two community members of the Blue Mountains Heritage Advisory Committee have spoken out against council plans for the committee, which includes an independent review into heritage management.
Speaking at the May council meeting, Leura architect Ron Powell and professional historian and heritage consultant Dr Ruth Longdin from Katoomba, said the committee felt ignored and sidelined and hadn’t been consulted.
“The treatment [from council] has been quite insulting,” Mr Powell said.
“We are being unneccessarily controlled by administration.”
The terms of reference for the committee have been revised, which the committee says includes stopping them from having any involvement in council-owned heritage assets.
Mr Powell said the committee believed this had stemmed from them having a say on council’s initial decision to demolish the Wayzgoose Cafe in Leura.
Four-year membership terms will also be introduced, which the committee fears means valuable experience could be lost as many members have been on the committee since its instigation seven years ago.
Mr Powell said the committee had sent a letter six weeks ago to general manager Rosemary Dillon requesting a meeting to discuss the changes and had heard nothing back.
Vice-chair of the committee, Greens councillor Kerry Brown, said she was also kept in the dark.
“I wasn’t consulted about this. This proposal for a review has come from nowhere,” she said.
Mayor Mark Greenhill disagreed.
“Councillors were briefed on this,” he said.
“Ending the operation of the heritage committee, that’s not what’s before us.”
The meeting heard the heritage committee had not met with council for a year.
Liberal councillor Chris Van der Kley, the chair of the committee, said it was only scheduled to meet four times a year. Twice they couldn’t get the full committee together, and then dealing with asbestos issues took priority.
“We felt it was more important to focus on the issues at the time and let the heritage committee lapse,” he said. “It was appropriate we cancelled these meetings.”
The independent review will also explore having heritage forums and workshops involving heritage experts, relevant community organisations and community representatives from non-government organisations who are invited to discuss “key heritage themes”.
We felt it was more important to focus on the issues at the time and let the heritage committee lapse.
- Chris Van der Kley
A council spokeswoman said the efforts and experience of heritage advisory committee members were appreciated.
“The revised terms of reference for the BMCC Heritage Advisory Committee were subject to extensive consultation prior to adoption,” she said.
“The amended terms of reference do not seek to limit the participation or contribution of committee members in any way.”
The general manager was in receipt of the committee’s letter and a reply will be sent shortly, she said.
“Council is looking at mechanisms for broader community engagement regarding its heritage management program.”
