Indigo Shire Council has said its position hasn’t changed since a motion about the vacant Beechworth Railway Goods Shed was unanimously adopted by councillors at last month’s council meeting. Cr Roberta Horne moved a motion for the CEO to review and consolidate existing information held by council about the Goods Shed, with a report to be submitted in three months’ time. In accordance with actions listed in the adopted motion, council is committed to a fresh look at the Goods Shed’s future use including confirmation of approved uses and any conditions affecting use. Council will also identify annual building maintenance costs including surrounds. Future suitable, achievable and sustainable uses with a focus on options not requiring significant capital works will also be identified. At the council meeting, Cr Horne said the local community had shown considerable interest in the Goods Shed for a long time. “There is an expectation that this important community asset has a clear and sustainable future - particularly in the context of our broader heritage responsibilities and World Heritage aspirations,” she said. Cr Horne said when the information is brought together, a broader conversation about the Goods Shed’s future use can be undertaken from an informed position. Beechworth Heritage president Jamie Kronborg said he welcomed Cr Horne's motion and councillors' unanimous vote to support the review. He said the Goods Shed has been empty and unused for six years, except for council storing colonial-era furniture and some office fittings in it, despite about $600,000 from taxpayers and ratepayers spent on its restoration. “Enabling the building’s use for the community’s benefit is long overdue,” he said. But he said the review is happening at the same time as council is pursuing a planning scheme amendment to define the precinct's activities and uses. “We support the amendment in principle, but council needs to make clear to the community how it will deal with the outcomes of two separate processes in deciding precinct-related uses that are to conclude at the same time,” he said. Mr Kronborg said Beechworth Heritage proposed in its recent submission on the precinct planning amendment that council defer the amendment process until the outcomes from the review initiated by Cr Horne are known. Among Beechworth Heritage’s concerns with the planning amendment drafted by the council is a gap between policy and practice. “Despite council’s 2019 Precinct Land Management Plan supporting uses with “heritage precedence", museum or heritage collection uses would not be permitted if the amendment is approved,” Mr Kronborg said. “Another is the loss of normal safeguards exempting future use approvals on the site from standard public notice and appeal rights. “A transparent, open Expression of Interest process for selecting future tenants is essential before a decision is locked in.” As the Goods Shed's restoration was publicly funded, Beechworth Heritage has also questioned how a commercial tenant would be prevented from gaining an unfair advantage over established Beechworth CBD businesses that received no equivalent public support. The submission further highlighted the precinct neighbourhood’s strong existing community use by Indigo U3A, Beechworth Senior Citizens' Club, the Lions Club-managed Platelayers' Cottage, Croquet and Bowls Clubs, and the Old Cranks' Motor and Car Club. “Beechworth Heritage has asked that future uses of the Goods Shed be required to complement, not compete with, this established character,” Mr Kronborg said. “Beechworth Heritage wants to see this building brought back to life in a way that reflects its history and serves the whole community. “Our submission is about making sure the framework that the council puts in place actually delivers that, fairly and transparently.”
