![Crittenden Cottage, at 4 Darling Street, will be added to the heritage list. Picture by Peter Hardin Crittenden Cottage, at 4 Darling Street, will be added to the heritage list. Picture by Peter Hardin](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/150521478/3b583d8d-c8e5-423a-b104-a9a3100ead19.jpg/r0_0_6016_3703_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
A developer's plan to demolish a historic cottage won't go ahead following a successful campaign to add the property to the heritage list.
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Crittenden Cottage, a former women's shelter located at 4 Darling Street, will live to tell the tale of its history for years to come.
The house will officially be heritage listed after 23 submissions were received during the public exhibition period to amend Schedule 5 Environmental Heritage, Tamworth Regional Local Environmental Plan 2010.
A spokesperson for Tamworth Regional Council said the submissions showed strong support for saving the historic site, which was built in 1898-99 as the caretaker's cottage for Tamworth's old courthouse, with many noting the importance of maintaining heritage buildings, particularly in areas surrounded by other intact, heritage properties.
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Because of the "unanimous support" outlined in the submissions, the spokesperson said council would push ahead with the amendment, and a vote from councillors would not be required.
The campaign to heritage list the cottage ramped up after Tamworth developer Garry Strudwick bought the property from Billabong Clubhouse in February last year, with the intention to demolish the house and build eight dwellings.
At the time, Mr Strudwick told the Leader, the day the sale settled he was contacted by council to inform him a full heritage report for the house would go before council in just four days, an interim heritage order was then placed on the building.
He said he had spent $20,000 on plans for the new dwellings, and said council had been "terribly inconsiderate".
Tamworth Regional Council was contacted for comment about compensation for Mr Strudwick.
Councillor Judy Coates said she did "feel for" the developer, but preserving the cottage would be a "good thing for Tamworth".
"Possibly a lot of younger people don't see the value in history," she said.
"But it's only from our history that we learn about who we are today."
Noting the fine line between heritage and development, Cr Coates said not every old building needed to be preserved.
"There has to be a story that's significant and there has to be some sort of aesthetic value to the property," she said.
"All we can do is encourage people, if they feel there is a history story, that's integral to Tamworth itself, I think we need people to bring it forward so we can have a look at it."
Cr Coates said she hoped some sort of educational component could be developed in combination with the heritage listing to share the significance of the site with the community.
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