By Hamish Heard
HERITAGE Victoria has paved the way for the removal of a historic church hall in Williamstown to make way for an 11-lot housing subdivision.
The organisation last week approved an application to relocate the heritage listed Holy Trinity Anglican Church hall in a move that has angered residents.
The 1906 hall and its adjacent church and vicarage buildings are listed on the Heritage Victoria website as “architecturally significant as a highly intact ecclesiastical complex”.
But the complex will be less intact following Heritage Victoria’s decision to allow the timber hall to be moved to Westbourne Grammar School in Truganina.
The relocation will make way for a new parish centre and a subdivision including 11 townhouses that will be sold off to fund restoration works on the vicarage and church buildings.
But the church will have to come up with new plans for the townhouses after Heritage Victoria executive director Ray Tonkin agreed with a Hobsons Bay City Council submission that the modern design of the townhoues breached heritage guidelines.
Eight of the proposed townhouses will face Aitken St and the remaining three will front Pasco St.
Mr Tonkin also said the permit required the Anglican Church to enter into a covenant guaranteeing the future maintenance of the church and vicarage.
“These conservation works will be agreed between the applicant and Heritage Victoria, and are enforceable by an unconditional bank guarantee to be lodged by the applicant,” Mr Tonkin explained.
Preserve Old Williamstown president Rennis Withers said several generations of Williamstown residents would be sad to see the hall disappear.
“I think it’s sad and disappointing that Heritage Victoria has seen fit to let this important part of Williamstown’s history go,” she said.
“The hall is an excellent example of the old drill halls these suburbs had so it’s sad to see yet another chapter of Williamstown’s past disappear.”
Local resident Andrea Gregson contacted Star after the paper revealed the plans last week.
“I attended that church when I was a child and when I read in the paper that the hall was going to go it sent goose bumps down my back,” Ms Gregson said.
“I can’t believe they’re even considering – it’s knocked me for six.”
