Submission to NSW Heritage Strategy Review
Executive Summary
Sydney YIMBY believes that NSW’s heritage system, particularly at the local government level, has expanded far beyond its intentions or social licence. It freezes entire suburbs of mediocre, unimportant buildings in amber simply because they are old. It fails to consider or even acknowledge the existence of trade-offs and downsides that come from excessive heritage listings and expansive conservation areas. It has become dominated by unaccountable private consultants who interpret vague criteria and guidance in their own interests rather than those of the people of NSW. In preventing change to the built form of many inner-city suburbs, it has accelerated the loss of the cultural, living heritage of the people who can no longer afford to live there. It is not fit for purpose and needs to be reformed.
We hold these views not because we do not value heritage, but because Sydney’s truly valuable heritage is undermined by a system that causes huge harm in its name. Where it limits development, heritage drives up housing costs for us all. Repeatedly in surveys, the ongoing housing crisis is ranked as the top concern for Australians. When placed against other issues, protecting heritage is a far lower priority. Heritage policy should reflect this- protecting only items that are truly valued by the community, and doing all it can to encourage and facilitate development.
The draft strategy takes some positive steps towards a fairer, less damaging heritage system for NSW. In particular, we welcome the strategy’s ambitions to build an evidence base about the true value of heritage, and to provide clearer guidance for local councils on identifying, managing and regulating local heritage. We welcome the strategy’s recognition that heritage is far more than simply old buildings, and applaud measures to strengthen recognition of the heritage of Aboriginal and culturally diverse communities.
Where the strategy falls short is that it fails to appropriately recognise that heritage has costs, not just benefits. Measuring and balancing these costs against the benefits of heritage should be the fundamental principle driving NSW’s heritage policy, and is the central basis of our recommended changes.
