The House on Dunmore Street
The Dunmore Street house was built in 1898 and is one of four remaining wooden sponge-era houses in the settlement. Its owner, whose family has held it for three generations, says termites have damaged the floors and that repairs will cost about $180,000. He has $40,000 and wants to demolish the house to build a small gas station and convenience store, creating 12 jobs. The local Heritage Society argues the house could attract heritage tourists and should be restored. The building is not formally listed, so demolition needs no special permit. The government has a heritage fund of $100,000, with five applications already pending. The gas station would sit on a corner where schoolchildren walk. The council must decide whether to fund restoration, negotiate a compromise, or allow demolition.
1. Assess the heritage, economic and social arguments. Which are strongest?
Read the worked answer
Heritage arguments: the house is one of four remaining sponge-era wooden houses, so its loss would be irreversible and would reduce the settlement's distinctiveness; heritage tourism can diversify income. Economic arguments: the owner faces a $140,000 funding gap, and a gas station would create 12 jobs and convenient fuel. Social arguments: a gas station on a school route raises pedestrian safety concerns, while losing the house may weaken local identity. The strongest argument is irreversibility: demolition destroys a non-renewable heritage asset, whereas a gas station could be built on another site. The 12 jobs are modest and could be created elsewhere. However, the owner's inability to repair the house is a real property-rights and financial issue; without support, 'preserve' may simply mean the house decays. A fair judgement weighs irreversibility and public benefit against the owner's cost, not simply sentiment.
2. Recommend a course of action for the heritage fund, including conditions.
Read the worked answer
Recommend a conditional grant plus adaptive reuse rather than full restoration or demolition. The fund should offer, say, $60,000 on condition the owner contributes $20,000 and raises the rest from a heritage lottery or tourism grant; the fund cannot meet the full $180,000 because five other applications are pending and $100,000 is the whole budget. Conditions: the exterior and roofline must be retained; repairs must use termite-resistant methods; the owner must open the ground floor as a small museum, café or craft shop for part of the week; and a conservation plan must be approved before work starts. This protects the heritage asset, creates a small business, and shares costs. If the owner refuses, the council should negotiate a facade-retention design for the gas station rather than allow total demolition. Demolition should be the last resort because it is irreversible.