DEMOCRATIC PLANNING PROCESSES FOR BLUE MOUNTAINS TRASHED

A Freedom of Information request by the Association of Concerned Mid Mountains Residents (ACMMR) has revealed that elements within the Blue Mountains City Council, the RTA, the Department of Planning and the Heritage Office have collaborated to try to thwart a Heritage Planning process in order to demolish the historic 1903 Mechanics Institute Hall in Lawson.

The Institute is in the same class as many others with State and even National heritage significance, but now renewal of its heritage status has become a major stumbling block for the gazettal of a Council-approved Heritage Amendment to the Blue Mountains Local Environmental Plan 2005. The FOI indicates that Planning Minister Frank Sartor will be pressured to override democratic processes by removing the Institute as a heritage item from the Amendment presumably to facilitate demolition. If it retains its heritage status the RTA will need to comply with the Roads Act before continuing the widening of the Great Western Highway. However the RTA has an alternative highway plan that would avoid demolition of this community asset valued at $2-3million.

ACMMR requested the documents because of a lengthy delay in gazettal of the Amendment. Members were concerned that there may have been inappropriate intervention due to obsessive Council bias toward unnecessary demolition, and now feel that these concerns were justified. The Amendment is based on the findings of two heritage studies commissioned by Council, which the RTA relied on for its Review of Environmental Factors. Neither report recommends demolition but Council has meanwhile surged ahead with its demolition agenda.

Public submissions overwhelmingly rejected the Council’s “preferred option” of demolition, an unprecedented feature of its 2007 Plan of Management, but it was nevertheless adopted, only with the casting vote of Labor Mayor Jim Angel. Public sentiment for the Hall ran even hotter after Council then rejected, again with the casting vote of the Mayor, the RTA’s generous offer to use its alternative highway plan. Funding opportunities were also ignored, and moves to further investigate these were ruled out of order by the Mayor. This has left the community perplexed and angry, especially as Heritage Funding will be sought for other buildings nearby. As no post-demolition plan is available, many fear the site may eventually feature medium-density housing. ACMMR maintains Minister Sartor should determine that the highway go ahead with the RTA’s workable new plan rather than apply demolition by force to a prime heritage theatre building sorely needed by the community.

Support for the Save Our Hall campaign has come from far and wide including the National Trust, the Association of Mechanics Institutes and Schools of Arts NSW (AMISA) and thousands of Blue Mountains residents and visitors who are signing petitions and letters.

written by Julius Timmerman

The Lawson Hall Song

Listen to The Lawson Hall Song Here

A Poem by Erst Carmichael ©2008
Music by Denis Rice ©2008

PLANET ARK FOUNDER BACKS CAMPAIGN

All photographs by Christine Stickley
(Jon Dee middle front)

PLANET ARK FOUNDER BACKS CAMPAIGN TO
SAVE MECHANICS INSTITUTE HALL IN LAWSON

(29.8.08)
Jon Dee, well known environmentalist and founder of the Wentworth Falls based Planet Ark has added his support to that of the National Trust for the campaign to save the Mechanics Institute Hall in Lawson, knowing that the 105 year old hall listed by the National Trust is under threat of demolition.
Jon says:

Given that demolition is not required by the RTA to widen the highway next to the hall, I strongly question the reasoning of the BMCC Councillors who voted to demolish this wonderful community hall. The simple fact is we can have the highway and the hall.

Documents show that the RTA offered to move the highway and re-locate the hall portico at no cost to ratepayers. Why do Councillors seem to be ignoring this? A report was also prepared on grant funding possibilities for the hall but it appears that Council and Councillors have taken no proactive and positive action on this front to ensure a sustainable and well funded future for the hall

Council should be thinking more logically about the needs of the community. The Blue Mountains is sadly lacking in decent sized hall spaces for the performing arts and other uses. Why go to so much trouble to knock down existing facilities, especially one such as the Lawson Hall which is centrally located and just five minutes walk from a rail station? How is this extraordinary and historic building in Lawson going to be replaced? Councillors haven't said anything about the costs associated with that.

Jon says:

I am confused as to why Councillor Chris Van der Kley has voted for demolition of the hall while announcing in his election brochure that he is 'committed to preserving the cultural and natural heritage of the Blue Mountains.' Surely this building is one of the significant cultural heritage sites in the mountains? I call on Councillor Van der Kley to change his position and to join me in publicly campaigning to save the hall.

Planning Minister Frank Sartor should stop the nonsense surrounding this issue once and for all. He needs to ensure that the alternate RTA plan, which includes the relocation of the hall portico, goes ahead. He then needs to put the hall on the State Heritage register so that we can preserve this old building for future generations of Australians.

One of the better looking regulars at the vigil ( Toby)

photographs by Christine Stickley

Stateline Video

Long Time Resident Saddened by Council Decision.
Mrs. Patti Louden now aged 87 has had a very long connection with Lawson going back over seventy years. She has spent most of those years in her home in Sayers Street .


Mrs. Louden was asked how she felt about the prospect of the Mechanics Institute / Community Hall being demolished for the widening of the highway and to share some memories about it.



"Before I married I would often come to dances on Friday nights at the hall during the war years to raise funds for the war effort, we had such a wonderful time. I would leave work at 5.30 pm and travel by steam train on Friday evenings, it usually took about 3 hours to get here then from Sydney.The entrance to the dances cost 1 shilling, and I remember it was always packed out.

The Hall was really the focal point of the community in Lawson and I have many happy memories of various functions, dances, special occasions and so on. The hall was used by many community groups, it was used by the C.W.A. for many years and other groups. I remember it being used for Christmas Carols for some years, it was wonderful.

Of my many happy times at the hall I particularly remember it being used on the weekends as a movie theatre. I remember seeing the film 'Going My Way', there were many others, but i can't recall them now.

I feel very strongly that the hall should somehow be moved and be used again for the whole community as it was intended, after all it belongs to the people of the township. Although it looks small from the highway it is really quite large inside. I remember the enormous kitchen / supper area and attending functions such as the C.W.A. and my daughters attending many school and other functions there as they were growing up.

I feel that we should be keeping the old hall as it has such important historical connections with many people in Lawson. Of course I realise that the highway is in desperate need of being widened but I would like to see the hall retained regardless.

I have no memory of much community consultation over the years regarding what would be done with the hall when the highway eventually is re- built. Maybe there was something in 'The Gazette' over the years but I don't recall much being said about it.

I would feel very sad to see this important building demolished considering the connections it has with so many people over the years."

From the website of the Mid Mountains Historical Society

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Appalled By Council . Raoul O'Brien Lawson.

Like many of us, I am appalled by this Council's attitude in its attempt to destroy a beautiful and historical building that can be readily be saved at a fraction of the cost in building a new community hall.






My points I wish to add are:
Our local youth group could have a permanent home in this building with pride.

Personally, I know several groups including painters, drama players and musicians that would regularly use this building for their exhibits and performances.

In a recent cultural strategy workshop organised by the Blue Mountains Council ( co-ordinated by Janne Yardie ) over several months at considerable cost and attended by various artistic / historical cultures including landscape painters / drama schools / dancers/ musicians / writers / youth bands / jazz groups etc., the main recurring complaint from these groups was that there were not enough halls in the Blue Mountains for their activities.

On this basis, why is the Mechanics Institute not in use at the present time and in the future?

Save this Building.

Raoul O'Brien Lawson

If you would like to share your memories or make a comment about saving our hall please contact Kevin : email here

FUNDING APPEAL

The Association of Concerned Mid-Mountains Residents is appealing for donations towards legal fees to fight the Council's proposed demolition of the Lawson Mechanics Institute. The group has tried injecting goodwill, sense and reason into the debate about the hall but some councillors stubbornly persist to vote for its demolition, even though this is not necessary for the highway widening, even though the majority of the community wants to keep it and even though no plan for the community site where the hall stands has been presented.


Remember the councillors who voted for demolition.
Angel, Van Der Kley, Hamilton, Frappell, Myles and Creed at the September Blue Mountains City Council elections!

Now the only remaining option is to fight the decision in court. All donations toward legal fees will be gratefully accepted and acknowledged with a receipt. Please make out a cheque to "Association of Concerned Mid-Mountains Residents" and send it to PO Box 54 Lawson 2783 and don't forget your address for a receipt. Help save and put to good use one of the last remaining Mechanics Institutes! Thank you!

Condemned For Destruction

The landmark Blue Mountains building known as the Lawson Mechanics Institute has been condemned for destruction on the votes of Councillors Angel, Van Der Kley, Hamilton, Myles, Frappell and Creed. I hope voters will remember these names at the Council elections in September, because these councillors haven't responded properly to their community in its hour of need.

Members of the Lawson community tried to inject sense and sound economic reasoning into the debate on the cost and the value of retaining this hall. A community business plan was established that lists many groups waiting to use the hall and local tradesmen willing to offer their services for free. Such is the huge level of interest in the building. They clearly demonstrated that the getting the hall operational again is neither difficult nor expensive as suggested, and that taking up the RTA’s practical offer to move the portico and re-route the 4-lane highway to avoid demolition is far cheaper than demolishing the hall and refurbishing the RFS shed. The National Trust offered to set up a Tax Deductible Appeals System and there remain other avenues for external funding yet to be explored.

Despite the obvious economic benefits of, and massive broader community support for the RTA’s plan, all this constantly fell on deaf ears within Council. Some councillors kept providing the flimsiest of excuses to support demolition, other pro-demolition councillors just went to sleep until voting time.

Every other of the Mountains' 19 halls bar one has had its PoPE (Place of Public Entertainment) licence renewed by Council till late 2009. No-one has explained why the Lawson Hall’s licence in particular was allowed to lapse following Council’s sloppy aborted Plan of Management of 2004 or why the Youth Centre was then thrown out and $15,000pa is being spent by Council on temporary accommodation.

There are many legal issues to be pursued, and perhaps issues around possible maladministration as well.

One thing is certain - there is no plausible reason whatsoever for demolishing this building. What a waste of ratepayer’s money. What an outrageous attack on our social heritage. Is there a hidden agenda?