Demolished Launceston Mansion Sparks Heritage Protection Questions

The demolition of a dilapidated 150-year-old mansion in Launceston, in Tasmania's north, has prompted questions about gaps in heritage protection.

The Victorian-era home was earmarked for heritage listing over two decades ago, but was never placed on the State Heritage Register.

The loss of the property at 180 George Street has sparked anger and disappointment among locals and one heritage advocate who labelled the destruction as "scandalous".

Prior to demolition, the Launceston City Council sought the advice of heritage Tasmania, which said the property "did not demonstrate heritage values at a state level and therefore was not recommended to join the State Heritage Register".

A Heritage Tasmania spokesperson said this advice did not preclude the property from "demonstrating heritage values at a local level", saying "local heritage listing is a matter for the local planning authority".

The Launceston City Council did not provide comment on whether council considered it for local heritage listing.

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Without any protected status, the permit for the site to be bulldozed was approved by the Launceston City Council, which said the owner was exercising their rights.

Now, following community concerns, the council is working to identify other buildings that are unlisted, labelling them "potentially at risk".

A 'scandalous' loss for the city

Julie Judd owns a neighbouring property and said she was shocked to see the house torn down in a matter of days.

"There's no chance of getting any pieces of the material ... the pieces that were so unique to the area, we could have used to renovate some of the houses here," she said.

She said anything new built on the site would not fit the architectural style of the rest of George Street.

"There's nothing modern at this end at all," she said.

Ms Judd said "people have done a really good job in Launceston to keep this environment looking so old and that's why visitors come here".

President of the Heritage Protection Society of Tasmania, Lionel Morell, said the destruction was "scandalous".

"It's long been recognised by the National Trust as being one of the many hundreds of buildings in Launceston that had yet to be listed on the council's heritage list," he said.

In 2003, heritage architect Paul Davies was engaged by the Tasmanian Heritage Council and the Launceston City Council to undertake the Launceston Heritage Study.

The study summarised that 180 George Street complied with three of the seven criteria, with only one of them needed to enter a place on the Tasmanian Heritage Register.

Doesn't meet the threshold

The five-bedroom property, which was advertised as a "landmark home ... ready for restoration and refinement", was sold in February this year.

The Launceston City Council said when they received the application for the property to be knocked down, they turned to Heritage Tasmania to see if an emergency listing was required.

"Heritage Tasmania subsequently advised that the property did not meet the threshold for state-level heritage listing and was therefore not recommended for inclusion on the Tasmanian Heritage Register," Mayor Matthew Garwood said.

While Heritage Tasmania told council the property was not deemed to be of state significance, a spokesperson said this advice did not preclude the property from demonstrating heritage values at a local level.

In an email sent to local councillors in March, a city executive states council aims to present a planning scheme amendment to the council later this year, to avoid a repeat of this situation.

"It has now been identified that several unlisted properties, including places similar to 180 George Street, are potentially at risk," it states.

"We recognise concern around this potential building loss, and we are prioritising action to protect other at-risk heritage buildings."

How did this happen?

Dr Stuart King, a senior lecturer in architectural design and history at the University of Melbourne, said there are different levels of heritage significance and different criteria.

"Is the place important to telling an aspect of the area's history? Is there some high level of creative or technical achievement? Is it the building that represents a broader class of buildings?" Dr King said.

"There are other factors that might be of significance around aesthetics, associations with important people in the history of the place or with important or strong community cultural groups and so forth."

Dr King said it was important to recognise the importance of historic buildings before it was too late, and described the loss of the George Street home as "disappointing".

"Launceston is one of Australia's oldest cities that had a lot of development during the 19th century ... and Launceston's been lucky to be able to retain a lot of it into the 21st century," he said.