City Architect and Building Surveyor's Department II

Unique IDAG-0016DescriptionThe City Architect and Building Surveyor's Department was responsible for building regulation, and architectural work for Council's own building activity. These tasks had existed in Council since at least 1881 when they were administered by CA 78, City Architect and Building Surveyor's Department I, 1881-1928. In 1928, the tasks had been amalgamated with those of the City Engineer to form CA 61, City Engineering and Building Surveyor's Department. The City Architect and Building Surveyor's
Department was re-established in 1936 after the Town Clerk had conducted an investigation of Council's administration.

On 23 January, 1935 the Town Clerk, Roy Hendy presented a report to Council in which he recommended that the giant department of CA 61, City Engineering and Building Surveyor be divided into two - City Engineer's Department managing construction, cleansing , parks and transport, and City Architect and Building Surveyor's Department, managing building regulation, architectural work and building maintenance. This would have recreated the department of City Architect and Building Surveyor as it was in 1924 before CA 93, City Building Constructor's Department was formed. In the event, the recommendation was not acted upon until the following year, deferred until the transfer of the electricity undertaking to the Sydney County Council had been completed.

The new department of City Architect and Building Surveyor did not include the building maintenance function which stayed with CA 5, City Engineer's Department I. The department consisted of two branches - Building Regulation and Architectural. After strong lobbying by the Institute of Architects and the Institute of Engineers for appointment of an architect and an engineer respectively, the Council appointed John Rankin (who was an engineer and had held the position of Deputy Building Surveyor) to head the department. Whether or not that appointment was a significant contributing factor, the importance of the architect's branch declined considerably from that time.

On the other hand, the building regulation function, which had always had a substantial volume of activity, continued to develop, except for the interruption of the war years. Under the Building Control Regulations of the Commonwealth National Security Act gazetted on 18 November 1940, a £5000 limit was set on the value of alterations or erection of buildings. These were not repealed until the latter half of 1945. Thereafter the number of building applications submitted annually seems to grow. In part recognition of the changing relative weight of the two functions, in 1948 the title City Architect seems to have been dropped, and hence forward the department was known only as the City Building Surveyor's Department.

In 1945 the Local Government Act was amended to make provision for development planning schemes under the Town and Country Planning Amendment Act of 1945. Before this date, the department's primary activity, scrutiny of building activity to ensure it conformed with safety requirements and Council's notions of aesthetics and uniformity of appearance, had been conducted under a variety of acts and by-laws (primarily the City of Sydney Improvement Act, 1879 and the Local Government Act, 1919). Provision was now made for an overall development plan for the metropolitan Sydney area under the jurisdiction of the Cumberland County Council (City of Sydney had one representative on the Council) and the Minister for Local Government.

The Cumberland County Council was responsible for determining "the main pattern of traffic arteries, the main industrial zones and the major open space reservations" and the municipal councils were responsible for "filling in the details by providing local road patterns which fit with the overall network, by zoning for local industries, by providing the smaller playgrounds, parks and reserves...and by supervising all new building developments...to see that they conform to the intentions of the scheme". (Denis Winston, Sydney's Great Experiment, The Progress of the Cumberland County Plan, Sydney 1957, page 26).

The Scheme was prepared by the City Engineer (who had the prescribed qualifications) and the City Planning and Improvements Committee, but it was administered by the City Architect and Building Surveyor's Department. (Responsibility for the town planning function stayed with the City Engineer until 1971 when CA 8, Planning and Building Department was created).

Since 1879, any person wanting to erect a new building or alter an existing one was required to submit plans and an application to Council for approval. From 1945, any person wishing to undertake any building or development activity that involved a change in use of the land, was required to submit a development application for approval from Council first. Up to June 1951, when the Cumberland County Council Scheme was assented to, interim development applications were approved. After that date development applications conforming with the scheme were approved. Thus began one of the most important of Council's activities, which is recorded in one of the more voluminous records series - CRS 62, Development Application Files, 1954-1978.

In association with the establishment of the Cumberland County Council Scheme, work was begun in 1947 on the City of Sydney Planning Scheme. In 1961, establishment of a Town Planning Department was proposed to coordinate planning and development activities, including work on the City of Sydney Planning Scheme. The proposal was rejected and the City Engineer retained responsibility for the development of the Scheme.

Following a period of a building boom involving widespread demolition of buildings and redevelopment and three years of administration by appointed Commissioners, a new, elected Council took office in 1969 and initiated development of a strategic plan for the City to supplement the City of Sydney Planning Scheme (not completed until 1971). The City of Sydney Strategic Plan, setting objectives for the future development of the City area, was published in 1971. The Department of the City Building Surveyor was reorganised and two branches, Strategic Planning and Statutory Planning were established to coordinate the town planning functions. The reorganised department was named the City Planning and Building Department (CA 8), and the old City Building Surveyor's Department was abolished by a Resolution of Council on 25 October 1971.

SOURCES
CRS 42, Annual Reports - City Building Surveyor's and City Treasurer's, 1880-1971.
CRS 34, Town Clerk's Correspondence Files, 1914-1978: TC 471/35, 4109/46, 1595/61.
Local Government (Town and Country Planning) Amendment Act, 1945CreationResolution of Council 1 June 1936AbolitionResolution of Council 25 October 1971

Agency

Leichhardt Municipal Council

South Sydney Municipal Council Town Planning and Development Department

Planning and Building Department

Description

Start date1st June 1936End date25th October 1971Relationship legacy dataPRECEDED BY: Waterloo Municipal Council AG-0071 (01/01/1949)
PRECEDED BY: Paddington Municipal Council AG-0070 (01/01/1949)
PRECEDED BY: Redfern Municipal Council AG-0069 (01/01/1949)
PRECEDED BY: Newtown Municipal Council AG-0068 (01/01/1949)
PRECEDED BY: Glebe Municipal Council AG-0066 (01/01/1949)
PRECEDED BY: Erskineville Municipal Council AG-0065 (01/01/1949)
PRECEDED BY: Darlington Municipal Council AG-0064 (01/01/1949)
PRECEDED BY: Alexandria Municipal Council AG-0062 (01/01/1949)
PRECEDED BY: City Engineering and Building Surveyors Department AG-0061 (01/06/1936)
RELATED TO: Sydney City Council OR-0001 (01/06/1936 to 25/10/1971)
RELATED TO: Town planning FN-0011 (01/06/1945 to 25/10/1971)
RELATED TO: Building and development regulation FN-0010 (01/06/1936 to 25/10/1971)
RELATED TO: Property management FN-0006 (01/06/1936 to 25/10/1971)
Source System ID16

Relationships

Preceding agenciesAlexandria Municipal CouncilDarlington Municipal CouncilErskineville Municipal CouncilGlebe Municipal CouncilNewtown Municipal CouncilRedfern Municipal CouncilPaddington Municipal CouncilWaterloo Municipal CouncilCity Engineering and Building Surveyor's DepartmentOrganisationSydney City CouncilRelated functionsProperty managementBuilding and development regulationTown planning

Menu

City Architect and Building Surveyor's Department II