Thursday, 6 February 2025

 Tim READ (Brunswick) (10:20): Residents of the Hoffman Brickworks development in Brunswick are concerned about the state of a historic chimney that survives from the 19th century. It has been fenced off and surrounded by scaffolding for over three years, awaiting repairs. Despite repeated orders from Heritage Victoria and a County Court order, the developer, known as Ninety Four Feet, is constantly stalling repair works. The temporary worksite is an eyesore and continues to raise safety concerns, with unauthorised visitors regularly scaling the scaffolding. Residents’ insurance premiums have also increased as a result. Behind all these delays there is a developer that could have fixed this issue years ago.

Residents understand that restoration and repair of heritage buildings takes time, but they would rather see work being done by bricklayers than by lawyers. Heritage Victoria appear to be on the case, and I thank Minister Kilkenny’s team for keeping us informed. Given the long and sorry history of failed heritage protection on this site and indeed on others, including the demolition of other buildings after decades of neglect despite earlier commitments to preserve them, I urge Heritage Victoria and the minister to stay on the developer’s back and ensure the necessary works are completed as soon as possible.