Renovate or detonate. How two heritage homes had very different fates

Detailed summary

The demolition of a turn-of-the-century home in the heart of the inner west caused a furore and opened a can of worms on heritage and housing.

They are less than 10 minutes’ walk from each other but two exceptional Federation houses in Marrickville have experienced very different fates.

One has been restored and renovated and is now on the market with a price guide of $6 million. The other, cared for by the same family for more than 60 years, is now rubble.

The fallout from the loss of a substantial Federation home has highlighted the challenges of managing development in Sydney’s older suburbs while meeting the city’s broader need for more housing. It has also raised the ire of design professionals frustrated by heritage approval processes they see as unnecessarily complicated and, at times, combative.

In its aftermath, Inner West Council Mayor Darcy Byrne has said change is on the way.

When news broke that 16 Darley Street had been demolished, it caused an uproar on Drew Hoy’s Forgotten Sydney account on Instagram. Even Hoy, who has amassed 61,000 followers by documenting Sydney’s heritage buildings, was surprised by the vehement response at the loss of the home known as Ravenscraig.

Others, including architects, expressed their frustration at having to navigate difficult council processes to get the correct approvals only to see such a significant home razed to the ground.

Eva-Marie Prineas, a Life Fellow of the Australian Institute of Architects, was among those expressing her dismay.

“Ultimately, council bears some responsibility for failing to heritage list 16 Darley Street,” she told this masthead. “As architects, we are made to jump through extraordinary hoops to make even modest changes to heritage homes, yet somehow a house of this significance can be demolished.”

Marketed as an opportunity to “reimagine or rebuild”, Ravenscraig was sold under the hammer and demolished in accordance with Complying Development legislation under the NSW government’s Low and Mid Rise (LMR) Housing Policy, which is aimed at increasing housing supply.

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