Uncertainty surrounding the heritage value of the University of New England’s Robb College has halted any further work on the Robb College redevelopment.
Chief Operating Officer Peter Enlund said the NSW Heritage Council’s decision on December 5, 2012, that Robb College was of State Heritage Significance, places the redevelopment of the college in doubt altogether.
“UNE is committed to the redevelopment of the college system and Robb College was chosen as the first to undergo redevelopment due to its need for extensive upgrades,” Mr Enlund said.
“However, our hands are now tied and we cannot continue to push ahead with the redevelopment of Robb College with the uncertainty surrounding whether we will be allowed to proceed as planned.
“We have worked extensively with the Robb College community throughout 2012 to ensure the redeveloped college was consistent with the traditions and values of Robb and we think we achieved that in our final design.
“An application to heritage list the buildings was only made after the detailed redevelopment planning had commenced.
“Further complicating the situation is the building compliance upgrade at Robb College which had been deferred to the start of 2014, to coincide with the redevelopment of the college.
“The upgrades required at Robb College to bring it up to building compliance standards are in the vicinity of $7 million, and that would still leave us with a 50-year-old building. This remediation cost alone exceeds the physical value of the asset and that is before any renovation or improvement, the cost of which would be prohibitive, could get underway.
“As a result of the uncertain future surrounding Robb College and the remediation costs involved, UNE has taken the very difficult decision to close Robb College as student accommodation in 2014.
“We regret that this situation means, for the time being, Robb College will not get the redevelopment students deserve, but for UNE to continue to meet the needs of students in a modern, safe college environment, we have been given no other option.
“UNE remains committed to the College Redevelopment Project and will still proceed with Stage 1 of the redevelopment, which consists of a new 220 bed college on a new site in the college precinct.”
UNE’s strong budget position in 2013, and the smaller scale of stage one as a stand-alone project, has allowed the institution to proceed with the development without the need for a commercial partner to fund the project. This will deliver greater financial returns for UNE.
“We will revisit the redevelopment of Robb College when the NSW Heritage Council brings down its final decision and will continue to work with Robb College to find a suitable way forward if possible,” Mr Enlund said.
