Albany Historical Society jumps at Norman House opportunity, city open to further discussions

The Albany Historical Society has jumped at the chance to help guide the restoration of Norman House, but it will take the City of Albany longer to determine whether it is willing to take on the asset.

Letters sent to the AHS and the city on Wednesday indicate Advance Housing Limited will gift the building to the community via the two organisations so that it can be restored.

The letters state that AHL will gift the building jointly to capitalise on the city’s expertise in managing and preserving old buildings and the AHS’s stated aim to preserve Norman House.

Within hours of being offered Norman House as a gift, AHS chief executive Andrew Eyden had called an emergency committee meeting to consider the offer.

The meeting took about 20 minutes with the committee unanimously agreeing to accept the offer.

“We have always taken a long-game view of this project and that was about saving Norman House,” Mr Eyden said on Thursday.

“If saving Norman House means that the AHS needs to be involved in taking it on and turning it into another museum or another site that is open to the public then we are willing to do that.”

AHS has stood in staunch opposition to the demolition of Norman House since it was proposed due to the historical significance of the building in Albany’s landscape and its connections to significant families and organisations.

If saving Norman House means that the AHS needs to be involved in taking it on and turning it into another museum or another site that is open to the public then we are willing to do that.

Mr Eyden said AHL should be applauded “because they’ve done the right thing”.

“I think they possibly weren’t aware of all of the history until we actually collated it all, because it hadn’t been collated entirely until then,” he said.

“They now realise this building is hugely important in terms of the built history of Albany and hugely important to the community.

“It’s now a question of finalising the details and moving forward and hopefully being able to secure the necessary money for the restoration, and turning it into a bicentennial project — that’s what we’d like to do.”

While the process for AHS to accept the gift was swift on Wednesday afternoon, the city will need more time to establish if it is willing to take on the management of the asset to be involved in its restoration.

On Friday, city chief executive Andrew Sharpe described the offer from AHL as “generous”.

“While the city prioritises the protection of Albany’s heritage, the acquisition of such a valuable asset requires thorough consideration of numerous factors,” he said.

“This includes assessing whether the most suitable steward for preserving the building might be a private landowner with a genuine passion for heritage, committed to restoring the property.

“We would welcome further discussion with Advance Housing and the Albany Historical Society.”