A French restaurateur who hoped to transform iconic Australian poet Banjo Paterson’s childhood cottage into a modern dining space is close to walking away from his vision after local council stopped the works in their tracks.
The Waltzing Matilda poet lived in the Rockend cottage in the 1870s with his grandmother and siblings while he went to school.
French chef David Poirier hoped to breathe new life into the small patch of Aussie history by putting a new kitchen, dining room, cafe and outdoor bar into the heritage building.
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“I came past this place and I fell in love with the building,” Poirier said.
“The plan of this restaurant is to do something for the community where people can come, have a simple dinner.
“We’re (also) going to do a bar here where people can come here, have a beer, a cocktail, a margarita in the summer.”
Last year, Poirier took over the lease of the cottage on Sydney’s North Shore from its owner, Ryde City Council.
He pulled up the carpets, extended part of the building, removed cooking equipment the last tenants had installed and re-tiled the kitchen.
That’s when Poirier claims he discovered the place was infested with termites, munching away at the wooden beams holding up the ceiling.
Now he’s buried in a pile of paperwork and red tape, with Ryde City Council issuing a stop work notice because some of the work went ahead without authorisation.
But Poirier claims he had to fix the ceiling so it wouldn’t fall in after the termites made a meal of it.
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“I’m a small guy trying to do something for the community,” Poirier said.
“We’d like to walk away but now I’m in a stage where if I walk away, all this finance would be lost.
“How am I going to pay the bank?”
He said he’s already invested a quarter of a million dollars on the refurbishment and is now spending $3500 a week on a restaurant he can’t open, in a heritage building which needs urgent repairs.
Poirier has the support of local councillor Roy Maggio.
“I think (council) should be working with David to get this place reopened,” Maggio said.
In a statement, Ryde City Council said the delay was caused by Poirier’s actions – not council red tape.
It said the termite damage should have been reported to the landlord, before any unauthorised works took place.
“The unauthorised internal and external work led to stop-work orders being issued by Council, which has a legal obligation to protect the structural integrity and heritage fabric of a valuable community asset,” a council spokesperson said.
Full statement from Ryde City Council
The delay in opening the proposed restaurant at Rockend College falls upon the actions of the lessee, not because of any City of Ryde Council ‘red tape’.
The lessee has undertaken unauthorised work both inside and outside the premises, which is Heritage-listed and of historical significance because of its connection with the famed Australian writer and poet Banjo Paterson.
The unauthorised internal and external work led to stop-work orders being issued by Council, which has a legal obligation to protect the structural integrity and heritage fabric of a valuable community asset.
Council has not only attempted to work with the lessee in having this matter resolved but has been fully supportive of him in this endeavour, including the granting of a substantial rent-free period for him to open within the existing property approvals (with some minor works) so that he could trade and receive income, while he undertook the Planning Pathway approvals required to enable the full proposed fit out.
Council has also undertaken a number of substantial capital works prior to the tenant taking occupation including driveway improvements, new fencing, landscaping and compliance work for access and electricity supply.
Under the terms of the lease, the lessee took possession of the property ‘as-is’ and any further due diligence and improvement on its condition was his responsibility.
When it took ownership of the property, Council undertook a range of maintenance work, including a termite inspection in September 2023, prior to the tenant entering into the lease and taking occupation in November 2023.
No evidence of active termite activity was found inside the building.
A preventative termite baiting and monitoring program had been commenced prior to the tenant taking occupation of the premises.
However, during activities undertaken by the Tenant, many of the termite baiting stations were either covered with soil or physically removed, rendering the preventative baiting program ineffective.
The baiting stations have now been replaced at Council cost.
The historic termite damage within the premises was only found when the tenant undertook unapproved and unauthorised major work without the contractual consent of landlord and the necessary planning, heritage, and statutory approvals.
Under the lease, the finding of any latent damage, such as termite damage, should have been reported to the landlord immediately before the tenant undertook any work.