THE circa 1894 shops at the corner of Newcastle and Charles are to be heritage listed without the consent of the owner, who wants to develop the site.

Vincent council staff had recommended the historic building be left off the list “given that consent by the owner was not provided” but councillors voted to list it as “category B” which provides some protection against demolition.

Marie Slyth from the Cleaver Precinct Group has long fought to protect the area’s remaining old buildings. She warned councillors this building “represents the last vestige of our cultural history in that area”.

She’s led heritage walks around the precinct (and compiled a book on them), but warns if the buildings continue to disappear there’ll be no more built heritage to appreciate.

The owner, anonymous in the submission to council, is dead against listing, saying they had “recently purchased the property as an investment with the intention of developing in the future and was not made aware by the council at the time of the possibility of the site being listed”.

They “would not have invested so heavily in the property if they were aware of heritage implications,” and is concerned the listing will “reduce the options to develop the site to its full potential in the future”. They’re reportedly happy to keep the facade.

Over the years the shops have been home to Dalliore Pharmacy, Burton’s the Butcher (run by the widowed Mrs Burton and her two sons), and Pope’s Grocery Store. Up until the 1940s Perth councillor and deputy mayor William Beadle had a newsagency there.

Coincidentally, this Friday the WA heritage council is to consider whether the building requires state listing, which makes demolition far more difficult and requires the owner to properly maintain it.

by DAVID BELL