Point Cook's Future?

[Martin Edwards]

From Mark Pilkington


Folks

You may be interested in knowing about the Point Cook Heritage Management Plan that has been out for public comment since October last year with the opportunity for public comments closing at the end of this week on 30th Of April, you may also wish to forward this information onto other supporters of this important National Heritage site for their consideration, and lodgement of a comment by this Saturday 30th of April.

Following the appointment of Point Cook to the Commonwealth Heritage List in 2004 and the National Heritage List in 2007 Defence is required to undertake a Heritage assessment of Point Cook, develop a Heritage Management Plan for the site and seek public comment on that draft plan prior to its implementation.

Under the requirements of those Heritage Listings, Defence will be permitted to manage the site (including removal/demolition of buildings, if the Heritage Management Plan is approved.

As Aviation Heritage Enthusiasts, we need to take advantage of this opportunity to comment on the Heritage Management Plan and ensure it is well supported and that errors and discrepancies are corrected prior to the implementation, and that is it strengthened to protect all important heritage buildings on the base, not just those intended for future use by Defence. - Unfortunately a number of historic buildings on site are at risk due to the low importance and protection given them in this plan, and the consideration of "demolishment" of un-used buildings as a valid "Heritage Management" Strategy.

Point Cook is a “National” heritage site, and deserves significant Federal Government effort to preserve it, not simply the loose change available within the Defence budget left over after funding the purchase of JSF fighters and ships.

I would encourage the circulation of this email widely among aircraft enthusiasts and friends prior to Saturday 30th of April and consideration of each person to lodge a comment by 30 April.

The Point Cook Heritage Management plan can be viewed on line at http://www.defence.gov.au/environment/hmps however the document runs for 229 pages and 7MB making it difficult to read online or download if using "dial-up" ISP service.

A "pre-loaded HMP Comment form with 8 pages of comments is attached for those who wish to review its contents and modify them rather than reviewing the entire document and drafting their own comments, simply add your own name and address and send off.



Comments can be lodged by using the “HMP_Comment” form attached:

1. Mail posted over the weekend to:

Defence HMP
C/- Eco Logical Australia
PO Box 1558
Canberra ACT 2601

2. Via Email to defenceHMP@ecoaus.com.au

3. Or by completing an online “HMP Comment” form at:
http://www.defence.gov.au/environment/hmps/

Attached are:

1. A photo of the historic 1922 Motor Transport Garage damaged in 2008 and still un-repaired or even temporarily fitted to with tarpaulins to protect it - it is listed as being of high significance.
2. A Blank HMP Comment form - fill in name, address, comments and save, then email or print and post as per the details above
3. A Pre-loaded HMP Comment Form - fill in name, address and save, then email or print and post as per the details above.

Alternatively complete the HMP comment form online by cutting and pasting material from either your own completed HMP form, or the pre-loaded HMP form, and filling in your name, address etc





The Historic buildings of Point Cook cannot afford to await another 3 or 4 years for Defence to allocate some funding for maintenance, or for the buildings to collapse to neglect, action is required in this Centenary of Australian Aviation, to ensure Point Cook’s heritage buildings will survive for the site’s own centenary in 2014.

Readers concerned with preserving this important National Aviation Heritage site should also write to the Minister for Defence, and Minister for Heritage requesting urgent action and funding to preserve these important buildings, and development of a Master Plan for the site that maximises public access, utilisation and maintenance of the vacant historic buildings.

Senator the Hon. John Faulkner – Minister for Defence
(Email Defence.Minster@Defence.gov.au)
The Hon. Peter Garrett AM MP- Minister for Environment Heritage and the Arts
(Email peter.garrett.mp@aph.gov.au)
both via post care of:
Australian Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

Regards

Mark Pilkington

mark_pilkington@hotmail.com

[mark_pilkington]

Folks

here is some suggested comments!

COMMENTS ON POINT COOK HERITAGE MANAGEMENT PLAN


Point Cook is being retained in Defence hands and is intended to be re-populated by the RAAF as a working Heritage Base.

It is understood Defence plans for spending on the site is now deferred to 2015/16 or beyond.

Appendix E highlights the poor condition of many of the historic buildings and that many of the timber/weatherboard structures have no paint /sealant protection, the guttering/downpipes have failed and permit water to enter the internal ceiling and wall structures and metal roof cladding on many other structures is leaking and overdue for replacement.

It is likely some of these heritage buildings will not survive a further 5 or 6 years of further neglect, and will be assessed as to far gone by then and demolished due to cost or safety issues.


SPECIFIC COMMENTS ON THE HERITAGE PLAN

Section 2.5 Future Use

This section discusses the Future Use considerations including re-activation of RAAF Williams Point Cook as a “Working Heritage Base” yet there is no reference at all to the “Underlying Planning Principles” issued as policy by the Parl. Sec for Defence Peter Lindsay in September 2007 and in particular the following:

The future use and management of RAAF Base Point Cook (including the location of Defence functions and activities) is to be cognisant of, and facilitate, public access and use. • Future Defence use of the Base is to have regard to the location of the Point Cook State School and Pre-school. • RAAF Bases Laverton and RAAF Base Point Cook are to be retained in the longer term.• Funding will need to be sourced to undertake the necessary upgrade works to site facilities, to provide for the ongoing maintenance requirements.

The current Defence plans to close off public access and use of the most important heritage precinct on the base, the Southern Tarmac for “operational purposes” , is not consistent with facilitating public access.

The HCMP correctly identifies on page 6 in clauses 2.3.1 Maintenance that "The primary risk to the Heritage Values at Point Cook is through disuse, leading to lack of maintenance, and repairs, consequently resulting in deterioration of building fabric, Unused buildings quickly deteriorate.... results in buildings that are unsafe for use, unfit for purpose, and unattractive as restoration projects, often resulting in demolition as the most viable solution."

The report notes that 60% of the base is currently un-occupied, and if those buildings remain empty and not required for Defence purposes they will not be maintained, and suffer eventual demolition.

Under 2.3.2 Compatible Use the HMP identifies that “there is a potential for a number of different uses for various precincts on the base, at that the location and types of fences ... must be considered carefully to maintain consistency to the original planning concept.”

Under 2.3.4 Security, the HCMP identifies that increased security is being required across Defence bases and that the current museum access may be limited in the future due to heightened security restrictions.


Section 3.1.5 proposes a policy of seeking compatible uses for Point Cook buildings and precincts, and the 2003 Point Cook steering committee investigated such options, however the current Defence precinct designs servrely limits civilian use to most of the vacant buildings including all of the Southern Tarmac, and therefore threatens buildings that Defence cannot use (such as building 90 the 1922 Motor Transport Garage or building 108 the Seaplane Jetty) with remaining vacant and being neglected and eventually demolished to avoid Defence spending on buildings it is not using.

Section 3.2.1 Deals with the Southern Tarmac, the most important and historically significant part of the base, with the earliest aviation buildings in Australia, from the pre-WW1 hangars of 1914, the WW1 Hangars of 1917, the interwar buildings from 1919 and the 1920’s, it predates all other aviation related buildings in the Nation both civil or military.

Yet the importance of that precinct is not reflected in its value as a whole, unlike the “heritage Precinct” planned around the married quarters.

While some buildings are listed as Exceptional and high, the group is unclassified at all, yet clearly worthy of being “Exceptional” as a group. In addition the overall intactness of the Southern Tarmac precinct and the future of a number of individual buildings is at great risk due to neglect of buildings due to the lack of Defence use, and the lack of access for Civilian use.

In addition there are current plans by Defence to build new buildings in this precinct, demolish buildings from the WW2 and post war period, and an apparent attempt to try and recreate the precinct back to its 1930’s layout by moving building 210, the historic 1914 Aeroplane Hangar onto the site of the Bellmans when they are demolished. However it is clear that is a “third” and inappropriate site, not a return to the “original” site, and any move will destroy more of the heritage of building 210 and its existing building fabric that any re-siting will “reinstate”.



The HMP must ensure the historically sensitive Southern Tarmac site is managed as a collective precinct, and not naively modified to create a “quasy” 1930’s streetscape at the cost of interwar, WW2 and post war buildings that are just as important to the overall Southern Tarmac story.

The HMP must also ensure that no new construction is undertaken on the heritage sensitive Southern Tarmac site, the heritage values should not be damaged by “Operational” issues that may only be a transient and infrequent use of the precinct in any case.

In 2008 a wind storm blew off the roof cladding, and caused the western wall of the 1922 Motor Transport Garage (building 90) to fall over, the building is currently left without any protection to its exposed internal structure, and faces uncertainty as to Defences intentions to repair or demolish, yet it is listed as being of “High Significance on page 27 of the CMP.

It’s clear that in its current exposed condition building 90 will not be in a fit state to restore in another 3 to 5 years when such funding might become available.

Point Cook is the only National Heritage Site remaining in the Defence control and it seems clear Defence does not have the focus or resources to maintain it.

The Draft HMP on page 27 lists the 4 Bellman Hangars on the Southern Tarmac (Buildings 211-214) as being of Moderate significance, and had previously proposed on page 26 that existing buildings of Exceptional, High or Moderate significance should be retained in their present location, yet in this instance specifically recommends demolition as being appropriate?


Of those 4 Bellman Hangars on the Southern Tarmac, 2 are rare examples of the original samples sent out from the UK, (all others in Australia and at Point Cook are locally made examples), but have been slated for demolition . While their uniqueness is well known and even referenced in a public display within the RAAF Museum, it is not recognised at all in the CMP and the buildings are therefore considered of moderate significance and "demolition considered appropriate" as per page 27.


Clearly the two rare UK built examples would be considered “High” significance not only to Point Cook but nationally across Australia..


An important heritage issue is the WW1 seaplane jetty on the Southern Tarmac, recognised in this report as being of Exceptional significance, and recommending investment of funding to preserve it for use by “relevant user groups” (page 26) , yet Defence has done no preventative maintenance on the jetty for years, and its highly unlikely that without regular public access requirements to the jetty that Defence will provide any funding at all to maintain it as there is no "Defence" use for the jetty.

The Report does not appear to recognise the value of the intactness and “collective group” of buildings on the Southern Tarmac as being the most important part of the base? contrasting table E.14 "Significance of Southern Tarmac Assets" which only lists the 25 various "Aviation" buildings in individual categories from intrusive (1), low (3), Moderate (9), High (7) and Exceptional (4), where as the WW1 and interwar group of 13 married quarters (houses) listed in Table E.16 "Significance of Staff Residences Precinct Assets" are all individually listed as "High" (13) and notated that the it is considered that collectively, the group is of an "Exceptional level of value"??

Point Cook is Australia's most important AVIATION heritage site, the values that place it on the Commonwealth and National Heritage List is its links to Australias Aviation History, it is therefore beyond belief that the Heritage Management Plan and assessment is that the most "Exceptional" precinct of buildings existing at Point Cook is 13 uniform wooden houses not dunlike those found on early Army or Navy bases un-related to Aviation activities?


Section 3.3.5, Building 72 Former Barracks Store and Office.

This building is currently incorrectly assessed as being of “high” heritage significance and is recorded as originally being sited on the Southern Tarmac, and being relocated twice and having previously been the Barracks Store and Office. However the HMP totally ignores the true significance of this building as the original Flight Office and Casualty building of 1917 from the Southern Tarmac where it was sited adjacent to the Aeroplane Workshops building 95. This building was the WW1 equivalent of the Flight Operations Building or in fact the “Control Tower, with the necessary function of casualty treatment of injured trainees being an equally important role of those early days of flight training, as such it is clearly of Exceptional heritage significance and requires futher review by the HMP.


Attached Image

[mark_pilkington]

bump,

although the comment closing date was 30th of April (extended from 30th of March) I am sure emails recieved across the weekend would be accepted.

hopefully the attachment is accessible, it is a pre-loaded comments form, which can be completed with name/address etc and emailed to the address listed on the form.

regards

Mark Pilkington

This post has been edited by mark_pilkington on May 1 2010, 01:22 PM

Attached File ( Number of downloads: 478 )
 Preloaded_HMP_Form.doc

[gph]

Guys,

I've just stumbled on this important issue well after the close date. Is there any update or anything we can do presently?

GPH

[mark_pilkington]

Although the comments formally closed on Friday and the website is now pulled down stopping access to both the HMP's and forms, I would still suggest you send in a comment via email using the attached comment form.

It provides the email address to send it to, I would also suggest you ring the listed number and advise you werent made aware of this opportunity and ask that your late submission be accepted,

You could make the same point in the email and copy your email over to all 3 of the following politicians:

Senator the Hon. John Faulkner – Minister for Defence
(Email Defence.Minster@Defence.gov.au)

The Hon. Peter Garrett AM MP- Minister for Environment Heritage and the Arts
(Email peter.garrett.mp@aph.gov.au)

Dr Mike Kelly the Parliamentary Secretary of Defence at Parliament House,
(Email ParliamentarySecretaryDS@Defence.gov.au)

or all via post care of:
Australian Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

Regards

Mark Pilkington

[Brendan Cowan]

Mark,

Thanks for your efforts on this cause.

Let's hope the message gets some support and action.

Brendan C