Powerhouse Parramatta

DO NOT DO THIS - AS A LIFETIME VOTER FOR LIBERALS I WILL NOT VOTE FOR THEM AT THE NEXT ELECTION

Please do not demolish those lovely heritage houses in Parramatta. We have so little of our history left. The Powerhouse Museum should be left alone.

We oppose the destruction of the historic buildings, Willow Grove and st George's Terrace, as well as the historic female factory site at Cumberland hospital. These buildings are integral to the history of early colonial Australia and the destruction of these buildings is a travesty.
Dianne Barnes
President
Bathurst Family History Group inc.

DEAR SIR/MADAM,

I AM WRITING TO YOU STRONGLY OBJECTING TO THE PROPOSED DEMOLITION OF WILLOW GROVE AND ST GEORGES TERRACE WHICH IS VERY MUCH PART OF OUR “HISTORY” HERE IN PARRAMATTA.

THIS HERITAGE BUILDING,WILLOW GROVE, WAS WERE I WAS BORN( 73 YEARS AGO) AND I HAVE LIVED IN THE PARRAMATTA/HILLS AREA ALL MY LIFE.

TO SEE IT DEMOLISHED TO BE REPLACED BY “ANOTHER” CONCRETE JUNGLE IS APPALLING TO SAY THE LEAST.

PLEASE ACCEPT MY DISAPPROVAL OF THE NSW LIBERAL GOVERNMENTS PROPOSAL.

Good afternoon,
I would like to register my objection and concerns regarding the demolition of the heritage listed buildings in Parramatta.
While I think a new museum in Parramatta is a great move and probably long over due, I'm sure there are far better locations with less impact on our local history.
I have lived and worked in the area my whole life and so many heritage buildings have already gone.

Please reconsider the destruction of this significant part of our second settlement heritage before it is too late.

After traveling around the world and seeing the number of countries that have buildings that we all admire from the past i feel it would be the wrong thing to pulled down these 2 magnificent homes. Sydney now is looking so ugly with high rise units everywhere and all our past history is being pulled down to make Sydney look like Russia or China. Just so ugly so let's wake up and keep our heritage. The powerhouse museum could be place behind Parramatta goal in the Cumberland mental estate and the new metro train will run past the old gaol which will make it easy to get too. Please please retain something from our past as Sydney is becoming quite ugly. Thank you.

I am writing to you in support of the erection of a museum devoted to the display of heritage technology artifacts in the vicinity of Parramatta CBD. However, I strongly object to the demolition of St George's Terrace and Willow Grove in order to allegedly allow this to happen. Surely another State owned site could be found to accommodate the new museum.
Yours faithfully,

hello

Sad to need to write this email when we know that once gone those places can't be brought back.
As with all old buildings there comes complexity and also opportunity - hopefully NSW Planning takes the opportunity to avoid the destruction of this heritage in Parramatta.

So little is left of Parramatta's heart and heritage, surely keeping and cherishing remnants more important ?

I FIRMLY DISAGREE with the destruction and removal of heritage buildings including, but in no way limited to Willow Grove and St Georges Terrace at Parramatta.
I like the old world style of architecture - I believe the world was slower and better then.

I believe the powerhouse museum can and should stay where it is - sadly this city centric, high spending, high taxing gruberment [this proposal alone is GRUBBY and it stinks of corruption] wants to tear it down too to build some big new and disgusting sky scraper and help its development mates.

Sadly the NSW lnp will never be happy until EVERY heritage building in the state is torn down and some big new monstrosity is built in its place. What the NSW gruberment has done to Windsor town centre is a fine example of this.

If they want to extend the power house - put a second power house in the west somewhere - but don't tear down a heritage building to do it. And don't go giving me jibberish that its not herritage - blind freddy can see we no longer build buildings so well and frankly any building can be on or off the NSW herritage list just to fit the gruberment of the days crazy and outlandish expensive adgenda

This is a GREAT EXAMPLE of why I am so happy I didn't waste my vote on this NSW LNP in 2019, or 2015 for that matter in either house [I mean disaster].

The New South Wales Government needs to preserve not destroy Willow Grove and St George's Terrace in Parramatta.

Historical buildings are important to the citizens of this State as reminders of the past particularly the architecture and the landscaping.

Government cannot keep destroying our heritage, afterall doesn't it belong to the public!

DO NOT DEMOLISH HERITAGE HOUSES AT PARRAMATTA- WILLOWGROVE & ST GEORGES TERRACE!

PUT THE MUSEUM ELSEWHERE!!!!!

Dear Marcus,

I am sending this to your email as i could not send it through via the official channel.
This is a concern as hundreds of others are most probably in the same position.
A cynic would think that this is a deliberate ploy.


SSD 10416
20/7/2020
To Whom it May Concern.
The North Parramatta Residents’ Action Group (NPRAG) is Opposed to a cut down version of the Ultimo Powerhouse Museum to riverbank at Parramatta for a number of reasons.
• The elected Paramatta Council had planned and approved a River Access from the Parramatta City Centre to the Parramatta river which retained number of heritage buildings and allowed for public access to the river. (The River Foreshore Strategy, final report by McGregor Coxall on 18 February 15). In this strategy Willow Grove was part of the walkway linking Civic Centre to the river foreshore. The Baird government devised the plan to build a substitute museum, smaller than the existing museum and located in a flood prone section of the Parramatta River. The Council in their meeting on 14 January 2016 rejected this proposal and urgently sort to have it be put elsewhere in Parramatta. Several alternatives were suggested. At little cost to the NSW Government.
• In the last “One Person Council Meeting” in August 2017, just weeks before the local Council elections were to take place Amanda Chadwick made a raft of decisions beyond her administrative powers including approving land sales including the David Jones carpark and its surrounds for the proposed relocated Ultimo Museum site. All this despite over 4,000 signatures opposing the deficient proposal.
• There was two-year Upper House Parliamentary Committee Inquiry into the government's decision to relocate the Powerhouse Museum to Parramatta. The outcome was that the report urged that the billion-dollar plus project be immediately abandoned as it raised doubts concerning the adequacy of the new museum's international design brief. It recommended that the Powerhouse Museum should instead be given a cash injection and restored to its former glory, a new satellite museum be considered in Western Sydney and Parramatta be given its own world-class institution. This is NPRAG’s preferred option.
• The site for the proposed MAAS Powerhouse should not be in a flood prone river area. This site is a one in ten-year major flood risk and smaller river floods at least once every year (there a numerous records we can provide to support this statement).
• The Powerhouse Museum has been in Harris St since 1893, it is part of the fabric of the area. There is a groundswell of opinion in the Ultimo area opposed to the proposed relocation. With the Government recently adopted the commonsense position to continue with the original Museum. We do not know what small portion of the existing site will remain however the items exhibited should be appropriate to the building they are housed in, being a former centre of historic technology.
• The heritage buildings being destroyed in Parramatta will be gone forever. The only way that the history of Willow Grove and St George’s Terrace can remain part of Parramatta’s heritage is to leave them where they are and repurpose them to suit current community needs. Anything else shows the absurdity of the MAAS Powerhouse exercise. Other heritage buildings, and significant trees, have already been destroyed in Parramatta during the construction of the light rail.
• With more information being obtained regarding the new museum the less it appears to be a museum at all. The proposal planned at this time will see it used as a retail and function venue more than an arts and cultural drawcard. The museum’s chief executive officer Lisa Havilah has revealed how the facility would be used for conferences, 40 apartments for scientists visiting the Westmead Hospital precinct, a 60-bed dormitory for school students, a retail and food hall and some exhibition space. The word ‘museum’ was only included in the last criteria dot point on promotional material regarding the new Parramatta facility. Hardly an endorsement of a new museum.
• The design process and selection of the winning design appears flawed. It was revealed that retaining the heritage buildings was not a pre-requisite in the design instructions. The six finalists were not shown to the community, as is the usual procedure, but chosen in secret. The community has not had the opportunity to see all the entrants or know if other proposals accommodated the heritage buildings. The finished design has not been well received as it is seen as unsympathetic to the surrounds and has already been described by some as “the milk crate on stilts”. The proposed new museum is not expected to be built before 2024 or probably 2025. The new football stadium was also foisted upon Parramatta with a cheap design which does not sit well beside World Heritage listed Parramatta Park. Parramatta residents still do not have the replacement swimming pool that was promised after the enforced demolition of The Memorial Pool in 2017. Only now is a replacement being proposed for completion in 2 or 3 years, with the State Government merely offering to fund half the cost of the new pool to replace the one they destroyed. As a result of this, the State government has little creditability judging by their past performance.
• The cost involved in the new museum is apparently $1.5 billion at a time when that money could be better spent. Parramatta does not need a relocated museum as it has sufficient Colonial and Aboriginal history for its own unique museum which NSW does not presently have. There is the Fleet Street Heritage Precinct less than a kilometre away where a Museum reflecting the history of NSW from its Aboriginal history onwards would be ideally suited. NPRAG feels that Parramatta should have its own museum, and there have been numerous people asking for this. Among them is Ian Sloane the President of the Royal Society of NSW. With Parramatta being the “Cradle City” of Australia, it has enough of its own history. A more appropriate site would be the Fleet Street precinct, which does not flood and is surrounded by Australia’s earliest settlement buildings.
• The Parramatta Powerhouse Museum sounds more like a commercial and residential development with some display space. The word museum is barely mentioned in the promotional material. The Ultimo museum is a fantastic, character filled venue and so it should remain. Rushing this project through while everyone is preoccupied with COVID19 appears very opportunistic and does not reflect a level of transparency that we should expect from our Premier Gladys Berejiklian and the State Government.
• We have had an elected council dismissed, an unelected appointee making decisions contrary to the wishes of the previous council and the people of Parramatta. The State Gov’t who dismissed the council then making the project State Significant thereby cutting out any form of democratic process and the recommendations from parliamentary committee being ignored. It is hoped that the wiser political heads can appreciate the level of concern about this matter and adopt a strategy that will win the support of Parramatta and western Sydney’s desire for unique and relevant World class facilities for their area.
• The Parramatta and wider community continues to object to this proposal (as preposed). The level of concern and support against this second rate development has grown rather than diminish. Despite the Departmental heads having thrown everything within their power to RAM the project through.
• We (NPRAG) are ready and able to work with the Premier and the State Government to achieve a vision that is supported by the people of Parramatta and surrounds of Western Sydney. With a Employment Hub for small business, Culture, Education and Heritage facilities within a precinct for the North Parramatta area
The North Parramatta Residents’ Action Group (NPRAG)

For the sake of balance, please note that I do not want Willow Grove saved.

My family have lived in Parramatta for four generations. My grandmother is a life member of Parramatta Council and has an OA for services to the community. My father had his tonsils taken out at WG and my uncles had their adenoids taken out at WG. So my family have a real connection unlike most of the loud voices shouting.

But we do not want WG saved. We want a new state of the art MAAS built and do not expect the government to make such a massive investment and have the entrance compromised by WG or the other buildings on the George Street strip.

There is really nothing of historical or cultural interest in WG. It was not an army barracks. It is not even that old in the context of Parramatta. Please Do Save the facade of the old building in George Street (currently a barber shop) which will be impacted by the proposed metro. That is one of the original Parramatta heritage buildings. But don't save WG. Let's Fast track a world class MAAS for the people of NSW.

I hope an alternative voice, a voice from a genuine Parramatta local is helpful. I live and work in Parramatta. Feel free to contact me.

Dear Mr Jennejohn,

I object to the Parramatta Powerhouse because it simply doesn’t make sense to preserve one part of our history while destroying another. Willow Grove and St George’s Terrace form part of Parramatta’s unique history and any future development or cultural institution must preserve that history.
I live in neighbouring Ryde, NSW and regularly visit the Parramatta CBD. The demolition of these two heritage sites would be a massive loss to the community.

I have not made any reportable political donations.


Kind regards,

Jack Willis

Dear Marcus,

I appluad the departments desire to move a museum to Parramatta

I object to the Powerhouse Parramatta project because.

I don’t believe the heritage buildings should be knocked down.

they are outstanding parts of the history of parramatta.

Is the design of the new museum so amazing that these building need to be destroyed.

I know this is personal but i don’t think so.

Having worked in profession of briefing creatives, the design brief outcome looks to me like the architects have not considered keeping the heritage buildings.

Can we at least see a design that keeps the history.

cheers

Alan Flower

Please do not allow the demolition of the stunning heritage house at St George Terrace and willow Grove Parramatta. So much history and craftsmanship is lost and I just don’t want another building to be added to memory oblivion. Our history is important, this building is important. Please act in favour of keeping this house standing.

I wrote to you on 19 June, 2020 to record my strong opposition to the current proposal for the Powerhouse in Parramatta.

I discussed that I am a fifth generation Parramatta Citizen and member of the North Parramatta Residents Action Group (NPRAG). My female family members served in the Parramatta Local Health District and I was raised with the knowledge of Willow Grove being the local Maternity Hospital. Willow Grove has maintained its sanctuary status in the heart of Parramatta’s, which is celebrated by visitors from Sydney and beyond during the Parramatta Laneways festival due to its impeccable grand Italianate style architecture. There is nowhere amidst the civic centre that impacts the senses with green and open space like Willow Grove. This distinction of Willow Grove’s architectural design located on Philip St commands with the same magnitude as the Roxy Theatre on George St and the two buildings linked by the Horwood Place thoroughfare bring a potent reminder of developmental milestones for the City of Parramatta. These intact historical buildings are landmarks etched in the psyche of generations of Australians that must be respected and protected for future populations.

I have now attended two zoom meeting’s with the Parramatta Powerhouse Team on April 7, 2020 and July 2, 2020. My view is shared by the members of NPRAG, The National trust and the Powerhouse Museum Alliance, that is, the community consultation process is insubstantial. The need for higher level protection for the locally significant Parramatta heritage buildings Willow Grove and St Georges Terrace is necessary as is the protection of the Powerhouse collections. Museum collections spread out across multiple sites being transported to and from for display periods is un Forging ahead with a development that is destructive to the local history is not in the interests of the community or visitors to Parramatta.

Therefore, I uphold the NPRAG collective view that the city of Parramatta requires urgent action to prevent NSW Government from destroying our assets.


·Appropriate design and infrastructure is required to support existing green space and heritage, that is of the upmost importance.
·There is no justification to demolish Parramatta’s history.
·These sites on the Parramatta Riverbank are of high significance to Parramatta central business district.
·The proposed new museum is a cultural arts and education dormitory mish mash and not worthy of the Powerhouse title.
·A better vision for Parramatta must be realised than the current state planning proposal.


Please note: I have not made any donations to political parties in the interest of this development.

Dear Marcus,

I am writing to you to object to the Powerhouse Parramatta project that incorporates the demolition of the beautiful 'Willow Grove'. This action represents a lack of appreciation for Parramatta's history. It is deeply ironic that past beauty could be destroyed to build a fancy new building ... vis-vis 'museum'. Irresponsible and wasteful.

I appeal to your better sense.

Virginia Field

I object strongly to the proposed development on this site, for the following reasons:

.The proposal destroys unique surviving Parramatta heritage items Willow Grove and the Terraces in the riverside centre of Parramatta.
.The proposal's justification for destruction of these rare items is inadequate and wrong.
.The proposed relocation of the full Powerhouse Museum from its present Ultimo site to this Parramatta site is not proceeding (as the NSW government has announced during the exhibition period that major components of the museum will remain in Ultimo), so an integrated large-scale extensive site-levelling Powerhouse Museum equivalent to Ultimo is not needed on this Parramatta site.
.Destroying Parramatta's worthy remaining significant in-situ heritage to accommodate an imported (from Ultimo) heritage-themed museum is contrary to all heritage logic and management principles. Any museum (or other) development on the site should demonstrate sound heritage management principles and practices, includes protecting, preserving and promoting real and genuine heritage in place. Destruction of the site's heritage items is not necessary to create a museum on the site.
.Any museum on the site should be based on retention of the heritage items, and incorporate them in the design and function of the site.
.The proposal has not adequately considered alternative sites, especially for its changed (not fully relocated Powerhouse) museum function.
.The exhibited need and justification for the proposal (a relocated Powerhouse Museum) no longer exists, as the Government will be retaining major fixed exhibits at Ultimo.
.The design process is flawed, with inadequate consideration and weighting for the site's heritage in the proposal.
.The claimed public benefits of the proposal are less than the costs, including in loss of genuine Parramatta heritage and lost opportunity for better museum and public spaces by instead investing in a better conceived, better planned and more appropriately sited/designed museum and public spaces.
.The exhibited proposal is largely offering a "take it or leave it" binary choice. Public consultation by the proponents has largely been on this basis, which is not good planning and does not address and involve the best options and outcomes. So far the site's heritage future has been determined by an an uninformed or premature central government decision to proceed despite heritage listings, an architectural design competition brief that made heritage optional to shortlisted competitors and the judges, and proponent's public surveys and communications that made the designed museum and site's heritage items mutually exclusive.
.The site's heritage items can be retained in a compatible museum. This is not an unusual or impossible design requirement, and will make a better proposal.
.Approval now would not be good planning or management of public funds and assets. Much better outcomes for all are readily available by withdrawing, refusing or modifying the exhibited proposal to retain and be compatible with the site's heritage items. Good planning, a suitable museum and public facilities are best achieved for Parramatta, western Sydney and the state by not approving this proposal.
Please consider my objections when determining the proposal. I would be pleased to provide further detail and participate in any further review or discussion of the proposal.

Hi,

I wish to protest against the demolition of Willow Grove and St George Terrace in Parramatta, I was born in the area and have worked in Parramatta for over 40 yrs and I have seen far to many beautiful old homes and buildings go. If you dont respect the historical v value of the buildings why are you then building a Museum in the place.

You disgraceful.