An iconic Aussie poet\u2019s heritage-listed childhood home, once a cherished venue for weddings and celebrations, sits shuttered behind a council barrier marking the bitter three-year standoff between a restaurateur and a council. <\/p>\n
The Gladesville community in the Lower North Shore of Sydney, is frustrated by the ongoing saga blaming the City of Ryde Council for the lengthy closure.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s such a shame to see this beautiful old building being allowed to sit and become run down,\u201d one resident wrote on Facebook. <\/p>\n
\u201cI saw it last week on a walk and was very upset by how this once beautiful setting has not been given priority at council as one of its significant assets.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Tenant prepared to take the council to court <\/p>\n
The childhood home of legendary Aussie poet Banjo Paterson \u2013 the man who composed Waltzing Matilda \u2013 is a heritage listed site. <\/p>\n
The Victorian cottage previously served as a popular restaurant for nearly four decades before being shut. <\/p>\n
A new tenant, David Poirier\u2019s, dream project to restore it and open a new restaurant began in 2023, but it quickly turned into a bureaucratic nightmare after early building work exposed termites. <\/p>\n
Mr Poirier\u2019s new dining venue, Rockend, was scheduled for a grand opening in early 2024, instead, his lease was terminated last year and the site sits wrapped in spider webs behind a yellow \u201cCity of Ryde\u201d barrier. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhat they have done is not right at all,\u201d Mr Poirier told news.com.au. <\/p>\n
\u201cI had a panic attack,\u201d he said of the ordeal that has lasted three years leaving him on the brink of bankruptcy. <\/p>\n
Mr Poirier has poured about half a million of his own funds into the project and has vowed to challenge the \u201cunfair\u201d eviction in a final effort to recover his investment.<\/p>\n
It is understood the council has already spent less than $200k in legal fees so far and is now preparing for any upcoming legal dispute brought by Mr Poirier. <\/p>\n
Council claims: \u2018unauthorised works\u2019 damaged heritage building<\/p>\n
The City of Ryde Council alleged \u201cunauthorised\u201d building works carried out by Mr Poirier caused \u201csignificant damage\u201d to the 1850s building resulting in the termination of his lease. <\/p>\n
A council spokesperson told news.com.au the alleged damages include: \u201cremoval of walls, penetrations into structural timber beams and the pouring of a concrete slab on the ground floor.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Poirier rejected these allegations saying the work \u2013 approved by engineers \u2013 was done to address the damage termites had left and the structural decay that made the building unsafe.<\/p>\n
\u201cFailure of these termite damaged joists could lead to human injury,\u201d one independent assessment report warned. <\/p>\n
\u2018Wrong\u2019: Mixed signals from the council <\/p>\n
City of Ryde independent councillor Roy Maggio has backed the tenant saying the eviction was simply \u201cwrong\u201d when the tenant was in the process of getting a Development Application which was even lodged and approved after the termination notice. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe process has failed,\u201d Mr Maggio told news.com.au.<\/p>\n
For Mr Poirier, the main source of frustration was in the mixed signals he claimed to have received from the council throughout the process.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy was I encouraged to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a council-owned building, only to have substantial new financial demands introduced after the lease was signed?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy is a small-business owner being left with a total financial loss while council retains the improved asset to put back on the market? What they did to me is not making sense.\u201d<\/p>\n
Warehouse meeting that sealed the stalemate <\/p>\n
In an attempt to resolve the standoff, Mr Poirier said, he was called to a confidential meeting with the acting CEO of the council at an \u201cunexpected warehouse location rather than council offices\u201d. <\/p>\n
Emails seen by news.com.au revealed, he was directed to delete all social media posts involving the restaurant \u2013 including a GoFundMe page set up to help pay the mounting expenses \u2013 before the meeting could even take place.<\/p>\n
Mr Poirier had complied with the request in hopes of a fair resolution, but he had left the meeting feeling \u201cdeeply disappointed\u201d. <\/p>\n
The council\u2019s \u201cseveral attempts\u201d to co-operate with Mr Poirier had ultimately been unsuccessful, a spokesperson for the City of Ryde Council told news.com.au. <\/p>\n
\u201cCouncil needs to ensure that the structural integrity and the heritage fabric of the building is not compromised further,\u201d the statement read.<\/p>\n
The Council maintained Mr Poirier conducted \u201csubstantial unauthorised building works\u201d that resulted in damage, and that the lease was terminated to protect the site. <\/p>\n
The spokesperson said, the council was currently working with structural engineers and heritage advisers to scope repairs, after which they intend to put the site out to a competitive market tender to find a new tenant. <\/p>\n
Questioning the intent and conduct of the council, Mr Poirier has lodged a complaint with the Independent Commission Against Corruption. <\/p>\n
\u201cEither reimburse the money I have invested so I can walk away, or reinstate my lease on fair terms,\u201d Mr Poirier has asked the council. <\/p>\n
While the site sits empty, a GoFundMe page started by Mr Poirier remains active to help cover the growing legal costs as he prepares for a court battle. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An iconic Aussie poet\u2019s heritage-listed childhood home, once a cherished venue for weddings and celebrations, sits shuttered behind…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":835026,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[407071,407000,379349,407038,407035,93752,407084,407022,407021,407015,407075,407095,407003,407083,407012,407036,407026,407059,407067,407092,407029,407001,407002,407037,407046,407064,381288,407032,385276,407061,407078,407043,407014,387986,407041,406999,407079,64,63,22442,99,9278,356292,2467,407011,25273,407085,407028,78059,173525,402155,406997,75087,25275,2456,61204,4837,407009,407005,407049,137117,271495,407055,407054,407027,13307,45755,82281,407050,407018,407053,161302,407068,407019,407099,407101,407017,381654,406998,407010,407089,407042,407056,407030,407052,65937,240385,114785,407097,407062,407039,407057,112402,35557,407004,55128,77212,407082,407034,407091,407076,407087,670,205048,407070,407093,407065,407069,407058,376492,393410,407077,222590,387211,407024,407081,407020,407066,407006,407096,407094,407088,407051,407048,407098,378658,377435,377267,407045,407060,407086,381637,407063,376868,63784,388305,382838,407072,378887,379618,407007,407044,407080,407047,407008,391901,407074,407031,407013,381772,392495,407073,407033,407040,395118,407025,407023,93834,407090,407100,407016,145884],"class_list":["post-835025","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-s-several-attempts","tag-s-heritage-listed-childhood-home","tag-s-home","tag-s-new-dining-venue","tag-unauthorised-building-works","tag-93752","tag-a-bureaucratic-nightmare","tag-a-cherished-venue","tag-a-concrete-slab","tag-a-confidential-meeting","tag-a-council","tag-a-council-barrier","tag-a-council-spokesperson","tag-a-council-owned-building","tag-a-development-application","tag-a-fair-resolution","tag-a-final-effort","tag-a-gofundme-page","tag-a-grand-opening","tag-a-heritage","tag-a-new-restaurant","tag-a-new-tenant","tag-a-panic-attack","tag-a-popular-restaurant","tag-a-restaurateur","tag-a-small-business-owner","tag-a-spokesperson","tag-a-total-financial-loss","tag-a-walk","tag-about-half-a-million","tag-all-social-media-posts","tag-an-unexpected-warehouse-location","tag-an-unfair-eviction","tag-an-attempt","tag-an-iconic-aussie-poet","tag-an-iconic-heritage-site","tag-any-upcoming-legal-dispute","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-bankruptcy","tag-business","tag-city","tag-coogee","tag-council","tag-council-offices","tag-damage","tag-damaged-heritage-buildingthe-city","tag-david-poirier","tag-dollars","tag-dream-project","tag-early-2024","tag-early-building-work","tag-emails","tag-engineers","tag-facebook","tag-failure","tag-frustration","tag-his-investment-it","tag-his-lease","tag-his-own-funds","tag-hopes","tag-human-injury","tag-hundreds-of-thousands-of","tag-iconic-aussie","tag-its-significant-assets","tag-last-week","tag-last-year","tag-legal-fees","tag-legendary-aussie","tag-legendary-aussie-poet-banjo-paterson","tag-less-than-200k","tag-locals","tag-maroubra-and-clovelly","tag-mixed-signals","tag-mr-maggio","tag-mr-poirier","tag-nearly-four-decades","tag-news-com-au","tag-news-com-au-for","tag-one-independent-assessment-report","tag-one-resident","tag-parking-meters","tag-penetrations","tag-place-mr-poirier","tag-popular-beaches","tag-priority","tag-randwick-city-council","tag-removal","tag-rockend","tag-ryde-council","tag-ryde-independent-councillor-roy-maggio","tag-ryde-barrier","tag-sad-scenes","tag-sense","tag-significant-damage","tag-site","tag-spider-webs","tag-structural","tag-structural-timber-beams","tag-substantial-new-financial-demands","tag-substantial-unauthorised-building-works","tag-such-a-shame","tag-sydney","tag-termites","tag-the-unfair-eviction","tag-the-1850s-building","tag-the-acting-ceo","tag-the-alleged-damages","tag-the-bitter-three-year-standoff","tag-the-brink","tag-the-building","tag-the-childhood-home","tag-the-city","tag-the-council","tag-the-council-city","tag-the-damage-termites","tag-the-eviction","tag-the-gladesville-community","tag-the-ground-floor","tag-the-heritage-fabric","tag-the-improved-asset","tag-the-lease","tag-the-lengthy-closure","tag-the-lower-north-shore","tag-the-main-source","tag-the-man","tag-the-market","tag-the-meeting","tag-the-mixed-signals","tag-the-mounting-expenses","tag-the-ongoing-saga","tag-the-ordeal","tag-the-pouring","tag-the-process","tag-the-project","tag-the-request","tag-the-restaurant","tag-the-restaurateur","tag-the-site","tag-the-spokesperson","tag-the-stalemate","tag-the-standoff","tag-the-statement-read-the-council","tag-the-structural-decay","tag-the-structural-integrity","tag-the-tenant","tag-the-termination","tag-the-termination-notice","tag-the-victorian-cottage","tag-the-work","tag-these-allegations","tag-these-termite-damaged-joists","tag-this-beautiful-old-building","tag-this-once-beautiful-setting","tag-three-years","tag-three-year-standoff","tag-unauthorised-works","tag-walls","tag-waltzing-matilda","tag-warehouse-meeting","tag-weddings-and-celebrations","tag-wrong"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/835025","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=835025"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/835025\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/835026"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=835025"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=835025"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=835025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}