A historic farmhouse, built in 1920s and named the Oaklands, is at risk of being demolished due to a list of problems, including vandalism.
Developer Warriewood Vale Pty Ltd bought the Oaklands on 8 Forest Road, Warriewood in 2015 and lodged a proposal (N0440/15) with the Northern Beaches Council to develop 81 dwellings across the farmland.
The Council denied the application but the developer filed an appeal with some amendments with the NSW Land and Environment Court. In 2017, the appeal was approved with a condition that the historic farmhouse, also known as “the Wilson’s house,” will not be demolished.
Yet recent incidents in the farmhouse have prompted the developer to pursue the demolition, citing that the house’s condition has extremely degraded because of vandals and squatters. The developer filed another application in 2020 (DA2020/1489). Council has yet to decide on the application.
Petition to Save the Warriewood Farmhouse
But a former resident, who was Oakland’s tenant from 2011 to 2017, said the developers allowed the vandals to destroy the house as it has not been listed as a heritage site. Kristin Zindel lodged a petition to save the property from demolition. To date, this petition has over 800 signatures.
“The Northern Beaches Council, despite being advised untold times from 2015 to 2019 the house was under threat, refused to protect it for heritage, and despite notifying the owners the house was getting damaged did not enforce the conditions imposed upon the owners to protect the house. It was never secured, fenced or any protection afforded in any way,” Ms Zindel said.
She has been trying to get the Oaklands listed as a heritage site since it was sold to the developer. Ms Zindel said that there aren’t a lot of old houses with historical significance in the Northern Beaches.
Developer’s Response
A spokesperson for Warriewood Vale Pty Ltd said that they hired security to patrol the nearly six-hectare property but didn’t think fencing off the property was necessary as it was in a secluded area with fewer people.
Oaklands stands on land formerly owned by a convict. In the 1950s, a Yugoslavian family bought the property and grew a tomato farm using Yugoslavian farming techniques inside a glasshouse. The glasshouse, however, is no longer standing.
