Why Sydney’s oldest home has been stuck in a long limbo

5 hours ago 2

For the past 210 years, Sydney’s oldest colonial residence, Cleveland House, has been home to everything and anyone, ranging from convict-turned-merchant prince Daniel Cooper, to butchers, bakers, brewers and bottle makers.

Now, though, neighbours of the NSW state heritage-listed home in Surry Hills say the building is dying before their eyes.

Cleveland House in Surry Hills is the oldest surviving colonial home in Sydney.

Locals including Alistair Graham, who lives next door, say they have witnessed a rapid decline in Cleveland House’s condition over the past 15 years, despite some repairs and internal works, including to its basement.

Described in the City of Sydney’s archives as a rare and exceptional example of a grand Georgian mansion, the home is thought to have been designed by convict architect Francis Greenway.

“Aside from the historical value, it’s an eyesore,” Graham said. “Everyone would love to see it restored.”

Today, Cleveland’s roof resembles a patchwork of new and rusty old. There are visible holes in gutters and walls, and the temporary tarps erected over the verandah awning have been reduced to shreds.

After inspecting the site, Heritage NSW wrote to the owner, Brian Vincent of LGS Enterprises Pty Ltd, in April outlining the company’s obligations under the Heritage Act.

“We take our responsibility to help preserve heritage-listed properties seriously – and owners of these rare places can face penalties for not maintaining them to the appropriate standards,” a spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said Heritage was working closely with LGS to ensure the approved conservation works were completed as quickly as possible. This would include the roof, gutters, downpipes and reconstruction of the former chimneys.

But Heritage was unaware that all work on the site had been stopped since August 2023, after a stop-work order was issued by the City of Sydney, which has delegated authority on all heritage properties in its local government area. This was issued, the council said, after the owner started work on a verandah awning without consent.

Once a construction certificate is issued, the stop-work order will be lifted and works can continue under the approved DA.

A spokesperson said: “Council does all it can within its powers to conserve and protect heritage items”.

On the Cleveland House website, Vincent said the stop-work order came after a member of the public complained. He said it had prevented “urgent and necessary repairs to the roof and exposes the building to potential damages being wrought from the increased weather elements being experienced in our time”.

This saga is typical of negotiations between Vincent, who bought the property in 1988, the City and Heritage NSW over the past 15 years.

A stop-work order was issued on Cleveland House in Surry Hills in August 2023.

LGS has received two NSW heritage grants for conservation works, the first in 2011-13 and, more recently, a $30,000 heritage grant in the 2023-25 round.

Vincent was granted an extension to complete the works funded by the grants because he had obtained the required heritage and construction approvals.

Vincent has criticised delays in getting approval on his website and Facebook page. They detail how some applications for remedial work were rejected by Heritage NSW and how other development approvals were also rejected by council.

Last October, his website celebrated a win in his bid to build a new toilet block, saying: “Finally, after four years of communications it appears that the outstanding GTAs [General Terms of Approval] relating to the construction of the new toilet block may have been resolved”.

Five development applications by LGS Enterprises for works totalling more than $500,000 have been approved by the City of Sydney since 2014. More were lodged before that. Some have timed out because they are older than five years. Other works got the go-ahead from the Heritage Council in 2011.

The approvals provide for improvements to the commercial parts of the building, previously used by a publishing company, a new period fence, changes to windows, doors and the verandah. Other approvals relate to heritage materials.

When it was listed by the National Trust in 1973, the home was described as an excellent example of colonial Georgian domestic architecture. It had two “curious entrance doors”, a “splendid exterior staircase”, fan-lighted doors, and it was “rich in cedar joinery”.

Vincent has repeatedly updated the house’s Facebook page to announce that restoration works would begin imminently, only for those works to stop.

The Herald has been asking the owner to comment on the property’s progress since 2022. Vincent has declined to answer, other than saying he could reveal more in “six months”. He often says “sensitive negotiations” are continuing.

A Friends of Cleveland House Facebook update said, “The reasons for the slow movements on the restoration of this building are entirely due to the ridiculous heritage and Sydney councils with whom we have been fighting for more than 10 years. We have now obtained (after much headache) approvals for most of what we are planning to restore this beautiful building, so I think you will see some substantial improvements throughout 2024.”

In early 2022, an update on the group’s Facebook page said works would be completed in “mid to late 2023”.

In mid-2021, COVID lockdowns were blamed for delays, with a promise that work would continue “when things open again”.

This week, he said it was a “delicate period” and he didn’t want to “enter into discussion which may affect the progress forward”.

Delays are common in historic properties. These can include unexpected finds – a house in Bellevue Hill found unexploded ordnances, and a major institution discovered its old building didn’t have footings. The planning and approval process is complicated, and work requires specialised trades and is expensive.

Locals now hope for a breakthrough. “Everyone is over it,” said a neighbour, declining to be named. “And they realise what a beautiful home it was and how important it is historically, but there doesn’t ever seem to be any progress.”