'Iconic' tower will be demolished: council
The Busselton City Council has stood by its decision to demolish the Nautical Lady tower following a petition against its removal was considered by the elected member group this week.
The council received a petition containing 2651 signatures in November which requested the tower be saved for the purpose of providing views of Busselton, the jetty and Geographe Bay.
City staff prepared a report on the tower’s status and recommended the council reaffirm its decision to remove the tower in accordance with the council-endorsed Busselton Foreshore Master Plan.
The Master Plan has identified the removal of the Nautical Lady tower to enable the widening of the foreshore promenade and public open space.
The tower is not considered to “fit in with the architectural styling of the revitalised Busselton foreshore”, the report said.
The City also expects the ongoing maintenance costs for the building to be high and far exceed the overall value of the asset.
“In addition to this, the Nautical Lady building does not meet the Building Code of Australia (BCA) requirements for public buildings and universal access,” the report said.
“The City has been advised that given the dimensions of the top of the tower and width required for a public lift, a separate structure independent of the tower would need to be built alongside the tower to give access to the top of the building.”
The removal of the Nautical Lady tower is budgeted to occur this financial year. Subject to the relocation of the Geographe Bay Tourism Association from the premises this could still occur, or the works may be required to be carried over into the 2015-16 financial year, when the GBTA is relocated to the proposed Railway House building.
Members of the public asked the council to reconsider the demolition at the meeting on Wednesday night, calling for more consultation with the community about the tower’s future.
Resident Bill Gillbard said he believed there needed to be an open and transparent discussion about the tower.
Petition organised Glenys Cope said accused the City of allowing the tower to deteriorate since it had taken ownership of it and asked councillors to defer their decision until there had been more thorough investigations and costings into alternatives for the tower.
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