Callum Watson

2018 candidate for City of Norwood Payneham and St Peters.
Heritage survey responses.

1. Do you agree that the identification and protection of local heritage places is best done by local councils rather than DPTI (Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure)?
   In short, yes. I believe local councils have far more appreciation for the local areas due to either councillors being locals themselves, or speaking on behalf of the local population. DPTI are somewhat removed from that level of engagement and I have heard/seen first hand what happens when the local council is cut out of the decision cycle. I believe that we need to continue to grow and develop, but this can not be at the expense of our heritage, nor should it impede on the residents that live within heritage areas by constructing massive developments next to/inside of heritage zones.

2. In your opinion, has the current system of local heritage protection served your community well?
   From what I know yes. However there is increasing pressure on trying to maintain the heritage due to developments skipping local governments and even State Government at times.

3. Should councils reject proposals to list local places of historic merit simply because an owner objects?
   I think that this is always a tough scenario, however just on the basis that the owner objects may not be reason enough to reject a proposal. I would like to reiterate that in general, I believe that you need to take in all of the information for each individual proposal, so without having a specific scenario it would be hard to determine. But again, simply because the owner objects may not be reason enough, depending on the historical significance of the location/property/place.

4. Should neighbours of local heritage listed buildings have a right of appeal on development applications that propose demolition?
   Yes, especially if it impacts on the neighbours. This can be from character of the area, to multi-storey building then diminishing the sunlight that the neighbours get due to new developments.

5. Should buildings listed as Contributory Items in your council area receive better protection?
   I believe the NPSP Council are proactive in the protection of their heritage and would like to see that maintained.

6. Do you agree that places proposed for listing by your council as Local Heritage or Contributory Items should be subject to review by DPTI? Or would reviews be more appropriately conducted by an independent source of expert advice?
   It has to be Independent. Especially if DPTI have the ability to change the councils decision and then approve infrastructure because the heritage listed item is no longer listed. There is a conflict of interest with the same department being able to make both decisions, whether real or only perceived.

7. Would you like to see your council work more closely with the National Trust of SA in protecting heritage, for example, by signing up as one of the Trust's Civic Partners?
   I’m not intimately familiar with the business processes of the National Trust of SA, and would need further information to come to my own conclusions, however I agree in principle with the idea of doing what we can to protect the heritage of my specific ward and the council area on the whole.

8. What are your personal suggestions for improving the way your council handles policy and planning?
   No comments to make here.

9. Should councils actively encourage individuals to nominate places for consideration as local heritage?
   The process should be easily accessible to enable those that wish to make nominations.