The auction of Armidale’s old courthouse set down for noon on Monday December 17, was placed under a cloud following local MP Adam Marshall’s intervention in the matter on Wednesday morning, when he made an urgent request to Finance Minister Victor Dominello to place an indefinite pause on the public auction of the Courthouse until the issue of the heritage listing was determined.
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On Wednesday afternoon, Armidale Regional Council held its Monthly Ordinary Meeting at Tingha, where it resolved to ask the NSW Government to gift the building to council for it to manage for the Armidale community. Council wants ownership of the building and urged the NSW Government to reconsider its plan to sell.
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Mayor Simon Murray said both the former Armidale Dumaresq Council and now Armidale Regional Council had actively engaged the community to explore potential uses for the space, with support from the Member for Northern Tablelands Adam Marshall since the old courthouse closed in 2014.
He said a number of excellent suggestions were mooted to re-purpose the building which would provide an integral activation point for the city and in particular the Armidale Mall.
The community’s overwhelming desire to have the building for its use cannot be ignored.
- Simon Murray
“The courthouse complex sits in a prominent CBD location and has always been factored into Council’s plans to reactivate the mall and greater CBD.
“I will continue to make representations to our Local Member Adam Marshall and to the NSW Government to reverse their decision to auction the property in December.”
Mr Marshall said he believed it was utterly inappropriate to auction such a historic and iconic public building.
"Particularly when there is an application for State Heritage listing currently before and being assessed by the NSW Heritage Council," he said.
"Future ownership of the Courthouse property should only be decided after the NSW Heritage Council determines the application, as a State Heritage Register listing would have enormous implications for the current ‘paper’ value of the former Courthouse and dramatically restrict its future use.
“It has always been my strong desire, and that of the community and council, to have the courthouse property retained in public hands. Now is the time for the oldest public building in Armidale … to be properly recognised with NSW Heritage Listing and then transferred to council on behalf of the community for a peppercorn rate.”
Mr Marshall said he expected to have a formal reply from the Minister very soon.
