Old bookstore off local heritage register

34 Albion Street has been removed from the Local Heritage Register. Picture: DOMINIQUE TASSELL

By Dominique Tassell

Southern Downs Regional Council has officially removed 34 Albion Street from the Local Heritage Register at the request of the owners.

The building is being removed from the register due to its “structural instability and inability to be economically repaired”, according to council documents.

The owners of the building are required to conduct an archival quality photographic record of the features of the place, in accordance with the standards outlined in the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection’s Archival recording of heritage places guideline.

This record is to be submitted to Council.

The building was originally listed on the former Warwick Shire Council’s ‘Sites Recognised to be of Heritage Significance’ list, taking effect in 1999.

The listing identified the building as the Albion Street Bazaar.

The owners of the property were advised in 2012 that the property was included in the Local Heritage Register.

The building was identified as significant due to its “architectural value as a relatively-intact small commercial building complete with shop front and post-supported street awning”.

The owners say the shop was included in the Local Heritage Register in 2011 with no consultation or communication with them.

They requested the building be removed from the Local Heritage Register in 2011 due to the building not being used as a commercial building for over five years. They did not receive a response.

The owners state that “commercial insurance and council rates made the small amount of rent for this building unviable”.

Following the floods of 2010, 2011, and 2013, the owners state the building has deteriorated to “an uninhabitable condition” with termite damage to the flooring and other wooden structures within the shop.

The owners submitted a structural condition report to SDRC, showing that much of the building need replacing or upgrading in order to prevent further deterioration.

Council has the authority to remove the property from the Local Heritage Register if they are satisfied the building is no longer a place of cultural heritage significance.

Council stated that “whilst the buildings deterioration does not negate its cultural heritage significance, the original design limitations particularly with regards to the flooring and awning, and the subsequent extent of works required to repair the Commercial Building to its original state are considered to be reasonably beyond economic repair.”

It was ruled that the building is no longer of sufficient cultural heritage significance warranting its inclusion on the Local Heritage Register.