Heritage Peer Review Darlinghurst

Trace Heritage was engaged to undertake an independent heritage peer review for a proposed restoration and addition to a grand Victorian Italianate terrace in the Barcom Avenue precinct, Darlinghurst. The project involved reviewing a Statement of Heritage Impact prepared by another heritage consultant and providing an independent assessment of the proposal's heritage merits for submission to the City of Sydney Council.

The Property and Its Heritage Context

The subject property is a substantial two-storey Victorian Italianate terrace with a modified single-storey rear wing, forming part of a terrace group within the Barcom Avenue Heritage Conservation Area — a densely populated precinct of Victorian and Federation-era terrace housing on steeply sloped terrain.

The Barcom Avenue HCA demonstrates the middle-class residential development patterns of late-Victorian, Federation, and inter-war Sydney. The area's significance is reinforced by highly intact streetscapes characterised by sandstone walls, original kerbing, palisade fencing, and established street plantings.

The Proposal

The development application proposed a comprehensive scope of works encompassing both restoration and new construction. The key elements included restoration of the principal building form — a new timber entry door, reinstatement of cast iron verandah detailing, new slate entry landing and stairs, and a front facade paint scheme informed by historical evidence.

The existing modified rear wing was to be demolished and replaced with a new single-storey-plus-mezzanine rear pavilion. A considered detail of the design was the salvaging and reuse of timber-framed doors from the existing rear wing, incorporated into the new rear pavilion — a tangible connection between old and new.

Our Heritage Peer Review

Trace Heritage's peer review examined the original SoHI and independently assessed the proposal against the heritage provisions of Sydney LEP 2012 and Sydney DCP 2012.

Our review concurred with the original SoHI findings. The proposal maintained the contributory value of the property through full preservation and restoration of the principal building form. The new rear pavilion was assessed as an appropriate contemporary response: sympathetic in its design intent without resorting to pastiche.

Outcome

Trace Heritage recommended that the proposal be approved on heritage grounds by Council. The peer review found the works compatible with Part 5 (Clause 5.10) and Part 6 (Clause 6.21C) of Sydney LEP 2012, and Section 2 and Section 4 of Sydney DCP 2012.

The Value of Heritage Peer Review

Heritage peer review is an increasingly common requirement for complex or significant development proposals. It provides Council with an independent perspective on heritage impact, and it can strengthen a development application by demonstrating that the heritage merits of a proposal have been verified by more than one qualified practitioner.