Cultural Heritage Consultants & Cultural Heritage Advisors

Heritage 21 is a highly professional firm of cultural heritage consultants. We provide an all-round approach to the complexities facing urban change and provide the most professional heritage advice to our clients.
We have been in operation since 1994, and through that time we have helped hundreds of Australian business and home owners understand their rights and obligations through our expert team of heritage property consultants. Australia has a rich and vibrant history, and we are a country that cares a great deal about preserving our heritage. At the same time, making good use of heritage space is important, both in preserving the building itself, and ensuring that Australians can continue to enjoy the heritage for many years into the future.
As cultural heritage advisors, it’s our job to help our clients plan their use of the heritage building that they’ve bought or are looking to buy in a way that doesn’t damage the heritage value of it. Our experienced, professional team of heritage advisors understand the regulations and the law completely, and can help you work through any paperwork or legal process that you might need to undertake.
The best option in heritage property advisors, Australia-wide
Our expertise extends across state and Federal law and regulation across all of Australia, and our consultants are available to conduct site inspections, reports and guidance anywhere in the country. For further information, or if you are interested in more information on a heritage listed property, contact us on +61 2 9519 2521

Blog

Unlisted Heritage Items – Erring on the Side of Caution

06/06/2018

Most countries, regions and states utilise heritage listing as a means of protecting heritage assets, but many of these lists are faulty, omissive, repetitive or incomplete. Quite often, as a cultural heritage advisor, I have come across buildings in conservation areas that are un-listed, yet they possess vary rare and distinctive fabric. Likewise, I come across many buildings that are neither listed nor in conservation areas that should be listed but are blatantly not. Who keeps tabs on this and who decides to list buildings in the first place?
In NSW, we have a complex system of cultural heritage listing. Most of the items are locally listed. Some are state-listed; a few are listed on the Commonwealth Heritage Register and even less on the National Heritage Register. In Australia, we have 18 World Heritage listings (UNESCO); three of which are buildings and places – the rest being of natural heritage significance.

Tensions in Cultural Heritage Tourism

28/05/2018

What is the relationship between cultural heritage tourism, the community and heritage places in any given locality? Which comes first, and which is more important than the other? In this article, I argue that above all, communities must be protected from an inundation of tourism so as not to alienate that community from its own heritage assets and secondly, I argue that the buildings themselves must be protected from loss of fabric and loss of meaning especially when tourist products are turned into corporate brands and locals are treated completely incidentally to the tourist experience.
Speno (2010) argues completely in favour of the tourists’ experience as the highest priority in the mix. She says that tourism, the world’s largest industry, is essential to a community’s economic vitality, sustainability, and profitability. The historic and cultural resources associated with people, events, or aspects of a community’s past give that community its sense of identity and help tell its story.

Taxing tourism to pay for cultural built heritage

21/05/2018

The World Bank (2010) writes that a good investment climate for tourism, underpinned by a sound tax regime, can play a central role in a government’s growth and development strategy. Yet in many countries, tax systems for the tourism sector are characterized by exemption schemes and instruments that generate little revenue and burden business. The three main issues facing policymakers dealing with tourism taxation are: fiscal incentives, sector-specific levies, and value-added tax (VAT). Such policy options are designed to encourage tourism investments while ensuring sustainable revenue collection. A good business environment for tourism is essential to support the industry’s central role in many countries’ development strategies. Investments in the sector, which has significant growth potential and can have important positive spillovers for the economy. Tourism is a complex industry of numerous subsectors. It is challenging to define exactly what constitutes a tourism product and how to tax it; tourism is not a single commodity, but rather a collection of many different goods and services provided by a wide range of suppliers.

Testimonials

Sites with heritage values present great opportunities, however often can be easily derailed if clear, concise and timely advice is not provide at the earliest stages of site planning. I have worked with Heritage 21 over numerous projects across Sydney and have found them to be valuable project partners in the development process.

Vince Hardy
urban planning consultant | cityscapeplanning+projects

DFP Planning has worked with Heritage 21 (previously Rappoport Heritage Consultants) on numerous projects many of which involved complex heritage challenges. We have always found Heritage21 to be proficient heritage specialists whose reports and assessments are detailed and well presented.

Whilst Heritage21 are committed to ensuring the integrity of heritage items and conservation areas is preserved, their professional approach results in a balance between heritage conservation and contemporary development being achieved in all instances.

Ellen Robertshaw
Partner | DFP Planning

Our recent commission completed by your team in November last year highlighted the high quality value that Heritage 21 contribute to our architectural projects.

At that time of the year, not only was the time frame extremely tight and the project initiation of the shortest notice, but the implications of the issues embedded in the project were of enormous import to our client.The successful outcome of that project demonstrated the sharp focus of the Heritage 21 strategic methodologies.

We appreciate the culture of Heritage 21 as we consider it to be underpinned by your company’s broad knowledge base and intellectual integrity. The complexities and challenges presented by heritage projects only enhance the sense of satisfaction when the projects have been successfully delivered. We consider that the input from Heritage 21 contributes significantly to that sense of achievement.We look forward to working with Heritage 21 on many future projects.

Richard Mann
Director | Ecosystem Architecture