KOGARAH Council has thrown its support behind the growing grassroots campaign to save Griffith House, the 122-year-old "historically significant" building in Gray Street.
St George Hospital plans to demolish the building to make way for its new emergency department.
Councillors agreed at Monday's meeting that mayor Nickolas Varvaris, acting on behalf of the council and the community, should ask Premier Barry O'Farrell and the Planning and Health ministers, Brad Hazzard and Jillian Skinner, to review the decision to demolish Griffith House.
Councillor Varvaris said the house was identified as an item of significance in the Kogarah Local Environmental Plan and had been recognised as a place of "significant aesthetic and historic importance" to the local community.
"While it is acknowledged that the proposed emergency department building is critical infrastructure for the region, I am very concerned that insufficient consideration has been given to incorporating retention of Griffith House into this scheme," he said.
"I am aware that Griffith House cannot be retained in its current location; however, the possible relocation of the building to a more prominent position on Gray Street, while still maintaining an access corridor to service the hospital, would appear to be achievable."
The council’s request for a review was applauded by a group of residents dedicated to preserving what is left of Kogarah’s heritage.
But there was very little support for moving the house. They believe a heritage property should ‘‘be in situ — where it is located’’ and the health department had many architects at its disposal who could come up with a creative solution for keeping the building where it stands.
Former teacher and Kogarah councillor, and St George Hospital board member Anne Field said the group was gathering strength and its campaign included submissions to all relevant ministers, advice from an architectural firm specialising in heritage work and Facebook and Twitter engagement.
‘‘We aim to keep up the pressure,’’ Mrs Field said.
‘‘How dare they destroy a building for only eight car-park spaces?
‘‘This is grassroots activism where residents have got off their backsides because they care.’’
Another activist, Suzanne O’Connor, said the hospital administration had to find a way to accommodate the house as it was part of a historic precinct, which included the fire station and Kogarah School of Arts.
‘‘It is one of our intact areas — almost a gem,’’ Mrs O’Connor said.
NO OTHER ALTERNATIVE
THE director of operations at St George and Sutherland hospitals, Cath Whitehurst, said there was no alternative but to demolish Griffith House if the new emergency department was to function properly and comply with building codes.
Ms Whitehurst said an extensive planning and design process had been carried out since 2010, generating more than 50 alternative site layout options and exploring vehicle access from all surrounding streets.
‘‘As part of this process, extensive consideration was given to options that avoided the demolition of Griffith House,’’ Ms Whitehurst said.
‘‘It was found that every option retaining Griffith House unacceptably compromised the ability of the new emergency department to function as required.
She said that in order to achieve building code compliance for the new department, access for Ausgrid, police, mortuary and pathology vehicles was required and this was proposed to be achieved by using part of the land occupied by Griffith House.
‘‘No other location is effective in meeting the vehicular movement requirements and the project cannot be built without meeting these needs,’’ Ms Whitehurst said.
‘‘Additionally, part of the footprint of Griffith House is inside the new [department] wall line.
‘‘The significance of Griffith House must be weighed against the significance of St George Hospital to the local community and its essential role in the NSW-wide system of emergency care.’’
She said the emergency department required a functional area of more than 3600 square metres on a single level, with fast links to ambulance access, the public entrance, operating theatres and the intensive care unit.
Should Griffith House be saved?
