Willow Court update

DERWENT VALLEY COUNCIL

MEDIA RELEASE

WILLOW COURT BARRACKS PRECINCT RENEWAL WORKS

July 2013

“Restoration work on Willow Court will be moving to a higher and more exciting level over the next few months”Chairman of the Derwent Valley Councils Willow Court Conservation Special Committee David Llewellyn said today. “The work on repairing the windows at Bronte has brought the building to life again, but there is much more to do.”

The Committee at its July meeting concluded an “Expressions of interest process”for work on the Barracks, Bronte and landscaping surroundings of the heritage precinct. The successful proponent was Xsquared Architects, incorporating Inspiring Place and the Centre for Heritage at Oatlands. Xsquared was selected after a rigorous assessment from a very competitive field of contenders and will lead a group of experienced specialists in oversighting the next restoration stage of works.

“Our focus now is to finalise works approvals with the various regulatory bodies and to invite comments from the New Norfolk community.” David Llewellyn said. “We want public input into the plans and we also want the public and local community to get involved in the current works.

David Llewellyn again emphasised that local contractors have already been used on current works and local contractors will be actively pursued for the new works once approvals secured.

Restoration works on the Barracks will start very soon, including repairs to exterior and interior elements of the building, and opening up other rooms.

Willow Court is a nationally recognised heritage precinct, of great importance to the region and nation. The most historic of the many buildings that make up the site is The Barracks, built around 1830. The Barracks was built as Tasmania’s first hospital for invalid convicts but soon was exclusively used as a ‘lunatic asylum’.

“The project is an excellent example of collaboration between local, State and Federal governments, and I am keen to build on that collaborative effort in order to see full use of the buildings at Willow Court”,David Llewellyn reiterated.