Roxy Pacific refutes report it demolished historic facade without city council approval

ESTABLISHED property and hospitality group Roxy Pacific Holdings said it has been diligent in the planning, design and construction processes for The Hensley in Potts Point, Sydney, to ensure "absolute respect of the original building features of the building, with a commitment to preserving the history of the site and maintaining the safety of its workers and the general public".

The group was responding to Australian media reports that it had demolished much of the historic facade of the inner-city building without approval from the City of Sydney Council and was ordered to reinstate the wall.

In a Singapore Exchange filing on Wednesday, Roxy said that since receiving development approval on The Hensley development, which followed the project's sales launch in June 2016, it has been working closely with the city council to make sure that "certain original building elements such as the facade are successfully retained or rebuilt".

It said as part of this adaptive re-use construction, which was approved by the council, parts of the facade will be rebuilt along with the roof structure to maintain its original form, but due to its age, all dilapidated timber and unstable masonry structures were required to be removed or retained under the instruction of the project's structural engineer.

This is to ensure that the completed building meets the Building Codes of Australia and Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) requirements.

Roxy-Pacific said that it has consulted the council and was advised that the works, currently being carried out on site, are in accordance with the development approval and that the council has no issues.

As for the fines issued for the removal of the column and spandrel, which were unstable, the group will review and reserves the right to refute the fine under OH&S grounds.