Heritage list cut to spur Adelaide CBD progress Rejected: A two-storey building on King William Street. THE number of city buildings earmarked for heritage protection has been slashed by the State Government to make way for development. Planning Minister John Rau has scrapped 42 of Adelaide City Council's 78 recommended heritage places, including many landmark buildings. He said heritage values must be balanced against strategic priorities, particularly the 30-Year Plan for Greater Adelaide. "While built heritage forms an important part of the urban fabric, the Plan creates a vision for the City of Adelaide in relation to population growth and increased development," he says in a letter to the council. Interactive: Adelaide then and now The ministerial approval is the final phase of a process that dates back a decade for local heritage listing of buildings in the Adelaide city area. Buildings knocked off the list by the Minister include several landmark properties on Gawler Place, the Gerard and Goodman buildings on Synagogue Place, the Hill-Smith Art Gallery on Pirie St and 19th century buildings on King William St. Owners of 23 of the 36 buildings accepted for local heritage protection were opposed to their properties being listed. Property Council of SA executive director Nathan Paine said the council had gone too far. "We're now well over 2000 properties on the heritage list and I think we're getting to the point we're just starting to list everything that's old as something special," he said yesterday. Mr Paine said heritage listing could hinder growth of the city, increase maintenance costs and lead to a loss of revenue from diminished development potential. Adelaide City Council deputy mayor Michael Llewellyn-Smith said he believed the council could accept just six of the Planning Minister's rejections. He said Lord Mayor Stephen Yarwood and city manager Peter Smith should be empowered by the council to do their best to negotiate the retention of 36 of the 42 rejected buildings. "So 36 get a tick from the Minister, 36 are in a grey area, and six he said would be rejected because they are physically compromised," he said. Mr Llewellyn-Smith, a former city planner and town clerk, said he rejected Mr Rau's argument that heritage had to make way for the 30-Year Plan. "If you look at the detail of individual sites in context, there is usually a solution where if something is listed it can usually be incorporated in some way or other," he said. It becomes an urban design issue. He said developers had always wanted the greatest flexibility to market sites. There is always a balance between flexibility and certainty, and people who buy into an area like to know that the building next door won't be demolished and something outrageous put there. National Trust of SA president Professor Norman Etherington said the Trust was astonished that the Planning Minister seemed to have taken over as Minister of Heritage. "Our view is that these local heritage places in Adelaide actually define the character of Adelaide that people wish to preserve," Prof Etherington said. It's not just a little thing of local importance. When people visit Adelaide, that's the character that they carry away and there is zero chance of replacing that. Developer George Kambitsis said Adelaide had been heritage-assessed many times and repeating the process was "unnerving" for developers. "Presumably, the buildings put on the list now existed when the previous lists were put together," Mr Kambitsis said. Some developers lack confidence in Adelaide already. The fact that the council has gone down this path leaves doubt in all owners' minds about properties they own. The City of Adelaide has been local heritage listing buildings since 1974. Local heritage listing is designed to protect places with heritage value but are not recognised in the State Heritage List. They should contribute positively to the heritage value of the city, for reasons of history, architectural and design qualities, built form character and integrity. Excluding the present debate over 78 interim protected heritage places, Adelaide has 1850 State and local heritage listed places out of an estimated at 7500 buildings. There are 864 local heritage places in North Adelaide, 440 in the Adelaide city centre, 102 signficance places, and 443 State Heritage listed places. Buildings rejected by Minister Rau include: 42-50 Gawler Place (corner of Rundle Mall): Landmark former Oriental Hotel. Minister's note: building fabric compromised. 58-60 Gawler Place: Laubman and Pank building. Note: Fabric significantly compromised. 97-99 Currie St: Four-level former warehouse. Note: Strategic site. 27-29 Hindmarsh Square (corner with Grenfell St): Two-storey warehouse facing the square. 5-7 French St: A five-level warehouse. Note: further research needed. 12-18 Synagogue Pl: Gerard and Goodman buildings. Note: Further research needed. 132-140 Gouger St: Two storey 19th century shops. Rear, 183-189 Waymouth St: Sandstone warehouse. 113 Pirie St: Hill Smith Fine Art Gallery. Note: Building fabric compromised. 311 Morphett St: Two-storey dwelling. 96 Currie St: Two-storey former factory: Note: Heritage value not sufficiently demonstrated. 157-159 Hindley St (corner of Morphett St): Two-storey shops. Note: Heritage value not sufficiently demonstrated. 387-391 King William St: Two-storey former dwellings.