VINCENT councillors have held off stripping a historic cottage of its heritage protection, wanting justification from Main Roads WA that its demolition is necessary.
Main Roads has asked that the “category B – conservation recommended” heritage inventory listing be removed from the 1904 cottage at 40 Guildford Road, easing the path to demolition and paving the way for a long-planned road widening (“Call to toughen heritage protection,” Voice, October 14, 2023).
Main Roads argued the planned road widening would lop off the front of the block, and without its front it’d no longer be very historic, justifying its pre-emptive removal from the listing. The Cook government also wants to build social housing on the site.
Not willing to give up the old place just yet, Vincent councillors this week voted to defer their decision over the listing.
Cr Ashley Wallace pointed out they hadn’t yet seen detailed plans showing the house needed to be demolished: “In the absence of any detailed road design, and just noting that this lot appears to be the point at which the road reserve widens significantly, I’d be interested to know whether Main Roads had considered whether that widening at this particular point could just be bumped down by two lots to preserve an important part of the Municipal Heritage Inventory.”
He moved they defer it for now until they get reasons from Main Roads as to why the cottage needs to go, and justification for why the widening can’t start just a bit further down the road.
They’re aiming to get the information back in time to vote around March 2024.
by DAVID BELL
Perth Voice Interactive 
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