The Village Of Lawson Is Under Threat
URGENT!!!! SAVE MECHANICS INSTITUTE!!! (visit the blog)
The Roads and Traffic Authority
(RTA) is widening the Great Western
Highway (GWH) through Lawson from two lanes to four. Under the current
proposed plan all of the shops that front the highway except the hotel
will be demolished to make way for a car park and service lane. With
the support of the local Council the plan is to demolish over 80% of
the historic buildings along the highway under the guise of widening
the road to 4 lanes!
(see RTA's plans at their website:). Already a number of houses have
been demolished without community consultation.
We feel that this is of great importance for all Australians as part
the history of this country is the crossing of the Blue Mountains
(1813) and Lawson is significant in that history.
Lawson was originally known as Christmas Swamp, owing to the many sedge swamps in the area which provided water to those travelling through. Later it was named 24 Mile Hollow, before becoming known as Lawson. Many of the threatened houses and shops were built around the turn of the twentieth century and provide a historic streetscape for the village.
One of the threatened buildings
dates from the late 1800s, the
Mechanics Institute dates from 1903.
Another object that is under threat is the lamp that was erected to commemorate the centenary of the crossing of the Blue Mountains by Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth and their aboriginal guides .
THE
DEMOLITION OF LAWSON SHOPS WILL RIP THE HEART OUT OF
LAWSON, CHANGING OUR VILLAGE FOREVER!!!!
Lawson is one of the 26 towns and villages that make up the city of the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney in NSW, Australia. The city of the Blue Mountains is the only city situated within a World Heritage National Park. Our village is midway between Springwood and Katoomba , and has a population of approximately 2,500 people.
Lawson is the ONLY town where
the Roads and Transport Authority
(RTA)
intend to demolish the historic buildings which make up the
streetscape, just to widen the Great Western Highway (GWH).
THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE
There are realistic alternative
plans which do not require the
demolition of any of the historic shops (click
here to see an alternative plan).
However,
the RTA and Council do not appear to want to
acknowledge the worth of these plans. Yet over 600 people have signed a
petition to save the shopping precinct from demolition and over 200
people have signed a separate petition to save the Mechanics Institute
from complete demolition.
The Mechanics Institute was the only public building for many years, and was the first Council meeting space in the Blue Mountains. It was built by the community using some of the sandstone bricks from the old Lawson station of 1867. It has been recognised as having heritage significance by both the RTA and Council. Most of the buildings which are destined to be demolished are of recognised historic and heritage value (see Mid Mts Historic Soc website).
According to one consultant,
Professor Ian Jack there is no other
comparable group of historic shops fronting the highway in any of the
Blue Mountains townships.; Professor Jack's report is available on the Council
website: click here to download
PDF .
NO HERITAGE STUDIES DONE BEFORE DEMOLITON DECISION MADE
During the period of 1995
onward, Council was constantly advised to
establish the Heritage significance of Lawson village centre, by a
Commissioner of Inquiry, the NSW Heritage Office, the National Trust,
its own internal reports, Professor Ian Jack Consulting and BIOSIS
reports. Despite the substantial evidence to support preservation of
these buildings, the local Council made a decision to demolish the
shops in 1999 without having done any heritage studies.
“Blue Mountains City
Council is at last now in the process of
finalising Heritage Listings for LEP2005. These listings
recommend that the town’s shops, currently scheduled for
demolition,
should be placed in a Heritage Conservation Precinct, of significant
importance to the ! Blue Mountains. Some of the shops are
named
as Heritage Items. The Mechanics Institute too, at 284 Great
Western Highway, is named as a Heritage Item, yet the
Council’s Project
Manager for Lawson has suggested it will be demolished despite
unequivocal support in the community for its retention.
The process of selecting the Preferred Option in 1999 was flawed by its
failure, contrary to the advice of the National Trust, Heritage Office
and a NSW Govt. Commission of Enquiry, to investigate heritage impacts
prior to selecting a highway route option. This failure now
places the BMCC and the RTA in a compromised position by putting in
place a proposal to demolish a recognised Heritage Precinct.
There is clearly no recognition of the petitions and the strength of
community feeling about saving Lawson’s heritage.”
If you are concerned about the future of Lawson please write
to:
Michael Willis
General Manager
Blue Mountains City Council
Locked Bag 1005
Katoomba
NSW 2780
You can download a form letter here
(Word Doc)
or email him at : council@bmcc.nsw.gov.au
For more information you can email us here
REDEVELOPMENT
OF LAWSON GOLF COURSE
Council currently has the plans for the redevelopment of Lawson Golf
Course on exhibition at the Council Chambers in Katoomba and Lawson
Library. Residents are strongly encouraged to look at these and send in
a feedback form or letter expressing their views.
The Bushcare Network, supported by the Conservation Society and others,
has proposed Option 6. This involves Botanic Gardens, a native nursery,
Arboretum, cycling tracks, picnic areas, interpretive/education centre,
performing arts space and the like.
It will have minimal impact on the environment and generate income for
the Council in the longer term. The project would involve the local and
aboriginal community and be a showcase for Council.
For more information
contact: Barbara
Harley