They’re the fighting words from architect David Penalver, doughty defender of Goulburn’s under-threat heritage buildings. Mr Penalver, speaking from his own concerns about threats to Goulburn’s historic buildings and precincts, rather than as a member of the Goulburn Heritage Group, says some people here see no merit in keeping architectural heritage.

His comments follow the lodging of a plan with Goulburn Mulwaree Council to knock down 37 Grafton St and replace it with three brick veneer units. The existing Georgian cottage on the site dates from the 1850s-1880s, and is part of a notable precinct of early buildings fronting Goulburn’s section of the Old South Road.

“Sadly, it seems the simple but very old cottage at 37 Grafton St is beyond structural repair – at least, that’s what engineers tell us,” Mr Penalver says.

“But allowing any building to deteriorate to such an extent that demolition becomes inevitable is a very poor alternative to maintaining whatever is possible of this city’s built heritage.

“Goulburn’s unique historical character depends not only upon its major tourist icons, such as the Cathedrals and Courthouse, but also upon its clusters of quite small buildings. These groups of old houses and car-free front gardens may not seem valuable individually, but collectively they form the very interesting streetscapes which make Goulburn worth visiting and investing in.

“It’s a sad fact that picturesque old Grafton St has become an odd mixture of both old and relatively new buildings. Historic houses and pubs are mixed in between modern in-fills without any architectural charm or sympathy.

“Retaining old buildings does take effort. But when we see the ugly new alternatives often replacing them, many people would argue that keeping the old would have been much better.

“This possible loss of yet another old cottage along Grafton St tends to suggest people here see no merit in keeping our architectural heritage, and we’d rather turn our city into a mediocre replica of any other country town.

“This is a downward drift that ought to be stopped.”

Mr Penalver said members of the Goulburn Heritage Group did not agree in any way with “the current urge to thoughtlessly destroy local built heritage”.

But in the case of 37 Grafton St, he personally felt there had at least been an attempt to blend the proposed new development into its existing surroundings.

“However, I suggest that squeezing three homes onto this site is too greedy – there’s very little privacy between units, and only negligible space for any garden vegetation,” he said. For the related editoprial, please see the print edition of Monday’s GOULBURN POST.