News - 19 February 2010 - Peppermint Grove Council back on the job
The Cliffe was back on the agenda at the Peppermint Grove Council meeting on Monday 16 Feb 2010.
Council restated its preference to retain and restore the Cliffe on site and has resolved to meet with the owner and the Heritage Council
The POST newspaper 19 February 2010
New Pep Grove push for Cliffe
Peppermint Grove councillors have now opposed Premier Colin Barnett and voted to push for the reinstatement and restoration of The Cliffe.
They want shire president Brian Kavanagh to seek a meeting with house owner Mark Creasy and the WA Heritage council to discuss options.
Mr Barnett succeeded in getting Parliament to remove the historic weatherboard home from the WA Register of Heritage Places when he was an Opposition backbencher in 2008.
It was the second time the supposedly watertight and permanent preservation listing of the Peppermint Grove heritage house had been lifted.
It first fell off the list in 2004, after a technicality was discovered in the way the original listing was processed.
It was relisted and then, after years of petitioning by the owners, it was dumped in a bi-partisan parliamentary move by Mr Barnett that sparked a controversy about the relationship between Cliffe owner Mark Creasy and Mr Barnett.
Allegations, which were sent to the Corruption and Crime Commission by Cliffe supporters last year about Mr Barnett’s involvement in the delisting, were investigated by a parliamentary committee and found to be baseless.
Peppermint Grove’s decision to seek to preserve The Cliffe was prompted by a new 1202-signature petition to save the building from demolition and restore it to its former glory.
After the property was struck from the Heritage Register in August 2008, the shire undertook a $25,000 study.
Shire president Brian Kavanagh said the report’s findings that the building had significant heritage value were adopted by the shire.
In a report presented to the council, CEO Anne Banks-McCallister said: “It is clear from the council’s decision that the shire’s preference is for The Cliffe to be reinstated and restored on site.
“To this end it is recommended that the shire president request a meeting with the owner and the Heritage Council.”
Mr Creasy has a demolition licence from the shire, which expires next month. Mrs Banks-McCallister said an application for renewal of the licence was being considered.
