WYNDHAM Heritage Recovery Group members are starting a fighting fund to help them contest a demolition permit for Werribee’s Davis House at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
Wyndham Council granted the permit in July last year with a number of conditions, including that the developer must maintain the structural integrity of the house for 12 months and try to find somewhere to move the building.
But the heritage group is concerned those conditions are not being met.
The group wants the council to revoke the permit and is prepared to take the issue to the VCAT.
A progress report is expected to be tabled at Monday night’s council meeting, after Cr Marcel Mahfoud told last month’s meeting he was troubled by the way the historic house was being looked after.
He said the community was witnessing the deterioration of a site which was of great local significance.
Heritage group member Yvonne Epema said the group was confident it could prove to the tribunal the permit conditions were not being met and that the council should never have approved the demolition.
She said a petition had amassed more than 300 signatures in two weeks. “The response we got from the community was overwhelming. People have said enough is enough. We can’t believe the interest.”
Ms Epema said the group would wait to see the outcome of the council report before tabling its petition.
Fellow member John Brodel said the group was aiming to collect at least 700 signatures to show the council that the community wanted Davis House saved. The group had received offers from tradesmen who were willing to help restore the house so it could be used as a museum.
The group will host a sausage sizzle outside Davis House on Friday from 10am-2pm to help raise money. The petition will also be available.
