Letter to: Chairman, Engineering Heritage Committee, The
Institution of Engineers, Australia
The Hon. Craig Knowles MP, Minister for Urban Affairs and
Planning and Minister for Housing, has asked me to respond on his behalf to
your letter concerning the development proposal for the Locomotive Workshop
building in the Eveleigh Precinct of City West,
On 6 June 1996, the Minister granted consent to the
development application subject to 39 conditions. The conditions of consent
address a broad range of heritage and conservation issues, including those
recommended by the Heritage Council.
The Minister shares your interest in the conservation of
the Locomotive Workshop building and the historic machinery it houses. The
Minister is satisfied with the extensive design development and assessment
process followed for the building. The development application was advertised
during February/March, 1996, providing opportunity for public comment.
Furthermore, the proposal was developed in close consultation with the
Locomotive Workshop Building Steering Committee which was formed by resolution
of the Heritage Council. The Committee is made up of a Heritage Council member,
Heritage Manager State Rail Authority, and representatives from South Sydney
Council, City West Development Corporation and the Department of Urban Affairs
and Planning’s Heritage and City West branches. The Heritage Council also
commented on the development application and recommended a number of draft
conditions of consent which as outlined earlier have been incorporated into the
consent
In addition to the Conservation Management Plan prepared for
the building, the Department of Urban Affairs and Planning is jointly funding a
study with the State Rail Authority and the City West Development Corporation
looking specifically at management of the machinery. The study is being carried
out by the heritage consultants Godden Mackay, The study is well advanced and a
draft Management Plan has been prepared. This plan assesses the significance of
the machinery, classifies the items, outlines conservation policies and outlines
a detailed management strategy. The management strategy covers issues such as
location of machinery, maintenance and interpretation.
The draft management strategy recommends machinery to be
retained insitu and the development accommodates this machinery. The architects
for the proposal liaised closely with Godden Mackay during the preparation of
the design. The majority of the relics to be retained insitu are located in
bays 1 and 2, however there are also items in bays 3,4,8,9,10,11,13,14 and in
the annexes to the building. All are to be retained insitu.
Bays 1 and 2 of the building represents an area of
approximately 3500m2 and basically has the same ground floorplate as the
adjoining National Innovation Centre. This area has been set aside for historic
machinery exhibition (1 and 2 north) and an operating blacksmith (1 and 2
south). The Conservation Management Plan recommended bays 1-4 remain open. As a
trade-off, bays 3 and 4 are proposed to have mezzanines and be used for
technology park uses, however bays 10,11,12,13,14 are to be kept open for use
as an exhibition area. In these bays, the full scale and space of the building
will be able to be appreciated. The first 2 bays of the building will enable
the full appreciation of the historic significance of the place, with
collections and assemblages of machinery on display and machinery being
operated by tie blacksmith. The blacksmith operation is proposed to be open to
public view. It is considered that the proposal retains the significance of the
place while allowing the adaptive reuse of the building which will ensure its
long term conservation.
I trust this information satisfies your concerns over the
development proposal. You and your committee members are also invited to a full
briefing on the development and an inspection of the building. Should you wish
to take up this offer, please contact Alan Bright of the Department of Urban
Affairs and Planning to arrange a time.
Yours sincerely,
‘Paul Levins
Chief of Staff