Councils bid to build a fine dining restaurant next to the historic Katoomba Falls Kiosk has been knocked back by an independent planning panel.
The local panel rejected a revised DA on December 17 because of the adverse impacts on the heritage building.
The panel found that a planned Colorbond roof on the restaurant would be unsympathetic to the character of the existing kiosk with its 100-year-old terracotta roof tiles.
It also ruled that there was undue emphasis on the new building over the kiosk because of its height and bulk. And it said that the plans would have an unacceptable impact on the heritage significance of the kiosk by failing to respond to the scenic context of the site.
The panel was addressed by two members of councils Heritage Advisory Committee. Dr Ruth Longdin said the committee was deeply concerned at the plans and their impact on the heritage building.
She questioned the wisdom of creating a fine dining restaurant in an area where there were already eight restaurants within a 20-minute walk and where the vast majority of passing trade would come from the thousands of walkers traversing the Prince Henry cliff track from Leura through Echo Point to Katoomba Falls.
She said Katoomba did not need another overpriced restaurant but rather a kiosk serving cold drinks, cups of tea and sandwiches.
Ron Powell, also a member of the advisory committee, said the redevelopment plans were initially drawn up with no reference to councils in-house heritage expertise, no reference to the Heritage Advisory Committee and no broad-scale robust public consultation.
If there had been consultation, we could have had a different results and, I believe, a better result, he said.
Cr Kerry Brown told the Gazette the whole issue was like the Wayzgoose saga revisited.
The Katoomba Kiosk is another commercial heritage building owned by council that has been a development merry-go-round, costing ratepayers a small fortune in consultants fees and lost rental income.
I find the process unacceptable. It ends up costing hundreds of thousands of dollars more than it should and generates a battleground between council and community rather than a creative collaboration.
The knocked back DA was the second proposed by council. The first involved the demolition of the caretakers residence attached to the kiosk. Dr Longdin said the residence was originally occupied by a World War One veteran, part of a wider strategy to employ returned soldiers. Four kiosks were built but only two remain the Katoomba Falls one and another now occupied by Solitary restaurant in Leura.