The proposed gutting of the School of Arts building completely exterminates its history of use, as both a School of Arts and an Education building, as very significant public uses.
The private office use will eliminate its being available to the public.
State Government should have handed it back to Council where it could have been used locally to pay tribute to its history, and housing such things as a tourism office to promote the local heritage precinct and fossil fish history, with opportunities for museum and pictorial collections and exhibitions to document this.
Doma did not want to buy it as part of the tax site, and a greedy and heedless State Government insisted, so Doma’s primary aim is now to make money out of it.
This means unnecessary gutting and irrelevant use.
If Doma will not donate or sell the site to Council, perhaps the best that might be salvaged from the state’s complete disregard of its heritage significance to the community (ever since it was opened by Sir Henry Parks), is to negotiate to require that the downstairs public cafe be themed so as to present its heritage significance in pictures, décor, and even some items on display to tell its story to patrons.
Another example of State and Local Government not caring at all about preserving our disappearing community heritage and dereliction of their responsibility to protect it for future generations.
Email, Aug 5
Kay Williams, Pearl Beach