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Sydney City Council

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Creating agencies

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Building applications inspection and approval

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Building Application Files [Municipal Council of Sydney / City of Sydney]

Description

Unique IDAS-0059Start dateBetween 1st January 1941 and 31st December 1978Start date qualifiercircaFormatRegistered FileShort descriptionThis series of files contains papers relating to the granting or refusal by Council, of applications to undertake building work within its boundaries, 1941-1978.DescriptionThis series of files contains papers relating to the granting or refusal by Council, of applications to undertake building work within its boundaries, 1941-1978.

The series was created by:
- Planning and Building Department (AG-0008) in the period 25/10/1971 to 31/12/1978, and
- City Architect and Building Surveyors Department II (AG-0016) in the period 01/01/1941 to 25/10/1971.
The series is indexed by:
- Glebe Planning Street Cards (AS-1103) in the period 01/01/1949 to 01/08/1968 - Glebe area only
- Building Application Registers (AS-0122) in the period 01/01/1941 to 31/12/1978, and
- Planning Street Cards AS-0533 in the period 01/01/1941 to 31/12/1978.

Responsibility for supervision of building activity has rested with Council since the passing of the City of Sydney Improvement Act of 1879. Under Section 24 of the Act, plans for new buildings, and alterations and additions to existing buildings, had to be lodged with Council for approval. This was the first time there had been any sort of control over the buildings that were erected in the City.

Council kept registers and written descriptions of the building applications from 1879, but it appears that it did not start creating files until 1908. (AS-0138, File 1281/1951 notes that the registers and ‘building applications’ (presumably the written descriptions) from 1879 to 1907 were destroyed by the Department in 1952, and Building Application Files from 1908 to 1940 were destroyed in 1968). Further culling of files for minor works from 1941 to 1973 took place in 1982.

The files usually contained a copy of the completed building application form, correspondence, minutes to and from the Town Clerk and various departments and Building Inspectors' reports. When the approved work was finished the file was stamped ‘completed’.

The applicant also had to submit two sets of plans, one of which was kept by Council (see Building Application Plans AS-0126), and a specification of the work to be carried out. Once approval was granted, work could begin on the structure. Council's building inspectors carried out routine inspections of the work to ensure that no unauthorised work was carried out. These inspections are recorded in Building Inspectors' Cards (AS-0135).

The files are housed in buff file covers with a different coloured binder for each year. These are labelled ‘Building Application’ and the address of the premises is handwritten on the front.

The applications are numbered with an annual single number. For example, the first application for 1957 would be numbered BA 1/57. The same number is allocated to the file, plans, specification, and is recorded in Building Application Registers (AS-0122). The files are indexed through Street Cards (AS-0533).

The file covers sometimes contain cross-references to the following series:
- Development Application Files (AS-0062): Building Application files only deal with the erection or alteration of a building. If the work involves any change in the use of a site (or part of building) then a development application is required to be submitted first.
- Town Clerk's Correspondence Files (AS-0034): Occasionally Town Clerk's were created on the same subject as the Building Application file.
- City Building Surveyor's Miscellaneous Files (AS-0408): This series of files contained papers that were related to planning and building matters but were not strictly building applications. The files in this series have been destroyed. They were distinguished from the other series of files by the addition of a ‘1’ over the year element.

In 1968, the South Sydney suburbs were split off from the Sydney area to form the new Northcott Municipal Council (subsequently renamed South Sydney Municipal Council). The Building Application files from 1946 to August 1968 which related to the new South Sydney area were transferred to South Sydney Municipal Council. The files were not renumbered and became part of South Sydney Municipal Council Building Application Files (AS0091).

In 1979 the filing system in Council was centralised and the Building Application files, after that date, were raised as part of Central Activity Files (AS-0116). Building application files that were not complete as at 1 January 1979, were top-numbered into AS-0116, as 11.03 files.

Building Application Files then became part of series AS-0326, General Correspondence and Subject Files. Permanent files were transferred to Archives at various points.

Building Related Application Files [City of Sydney] from 2004 of permanent value are being identified and removed from the General Correspondence and Subject Files in TRIM for transfer to Archives when they are no longer in use. Known as B files, these form part of series AS-1207.

When South Sydney and Leichhardt Municipal Council were amalgamated with the City of Sydney again, Building Application Files were returned. These are held for:
- Leichhardt Municipal Council, 1938-2007 (AS-1209), and
- South Sydney Council, 1988-2004 (AS-1208)
Relationship summaryRELATED TO: Town Clerks Department Correspondence Files AS-0034 (01/01/1941 to 31/12/1978)
RELATED TO: City Building Surveyors Department Card Files AS-0979 (01/01/1949 to 31/12/1978)
RELATED TO: Building Inspectors Cards AS-0135 (01/01/1941 to 31/12/1978)
RELATED TO: Building Application Plans AS-0126 (01/01/1941 to 31/12/1978)
RELATED TO: Building applications inspection and approval AY-0028 (01/01/1941 to 31/12/1978)
LanguageEnglish (eng)

Item

1 McDonald St, Potts Point - block of flats [Mowbray Apartments]

71/111 Cooper Street Surry Hills office building

File - Australia Square 87 Pitt Street certificate of compliance, 1965

21 Bridge St. & 54a/56 Pitt St. Sydney. New Office Building.

87 Pitt St., Sydney. Office building

File - Australia Square, 264/278 George St & 1/17 Bond Street Sydney, 1963-1966

129-131 Bayswater Rd. Alterations & Additions [Scanned]

471A Bourke Street, Surry Hills. Alterations to existing dwelling. Ignatius Pranulis.

123 King Street Newtown certficate of compliance

20 Sussex Street Sydney mechanical ventilation

25-27 Challis Ave, Potts Point. Demolish existing wall and rebuild boundary wall at rear of

16/18 Kings Cross Road, Kings Cross. Alterations and Egress Improvements

342-344 Victoria St. Darlinghurst. Alterations and Additions to premises. W. Anton.

348A Bourke St, Darlinghurst - new ordinary, Centre for Homeless Persons [Central Methodist

7-13 Hunter Street, Sydney. New Shops & Office Building. Stocks & Realty (Progress) Pty. Ltd.

42 Regent St, Paddington. Additions

7-13 Hunter St, Sydney. New Bank Building [Scanned]

279-285 Castlereagh Street, Sydney. Lodge & Office Building. United Grand Lodge of New South

33-35 Oxford St, Sydney. Perusal of Plans & Photostats. [Scanned]

119 Devonshire St, Surry Hills. Alterations to Gallery Floor.

499/501 Kent Street Sydney. Alterations. 1st Floor. [Scanned]

83 Kent St, Sydney. Alts & Adds [Scanned]

471A Bourke Street, Surry Hills. Certificate of Compliance. Kennedy & Winter.

Series

Leichhardt General Correspondence and Subject Files

Central Activity Files

Building Application Files [South Sydney Municipal Council]

Access

Public access statusOpen to public accessPublic access noteSome of the records in this series may contain drawings of internal layouts for significant buildings that have been identified as being restricted under access direction AD2039.

Identification and Arrangement

Source system ID59System of arrangementAnnual single number

Digitisation

Digitisation statusPartially digitised

Data Quality

Authenticity & integrityThese are the Building Application Files from the Municipal Council of Sydney / City of Sydney. The record has been held in the Council’s custody and has a high level of authenticity. Users should be aware that this is an historical record and the language used within the record was the language of the time it was captured, and may not reflect current community values or expectations.

Relationships

OrganisationSydney City CouncilControlled by seriesPlanning Street CardsBuilding Application Registers [Municipal Council of Sydney / City of Sydney]Glebe Planning Street CardsRelated seriesBuilding Application (BA) Plans [Municipal Council of Sydney / City of Sydney]Building Inspectors' CardsCity Building Surveyor's Department Card FilesTown Clerk's Department Correspondence Files [Municipal Council of Sydney / City of Sydney]Building application files (Leichhardt Municipal Council)Building Application Files [South Sydney City Council]Building Related Application Files [City of Sydney]Creating agenciesCity Architect and Building Surveyor's Department IIPlanning and Building DepartmentRelated activitiesBuilding applications inspection and approval

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Building Application Files [Municipal Council of Sydney / City of Sydney]