Dario Centrella

2014 candidate for City of Unley.
Heritage survey responses.

What do you think Council's role is in protecting and conserving heritage?
Council needs to be instrumental in the preservation of heritage. It should also encourage opportunities for people to enjoy and learn about local heritage. The stories behind heritage sites are often really fun and hardly imaginable in this day and age. That's why I will be committed to protecting heritage sites, adding more to the heritage list wherever possible and making sure that any future developments around Unley continue the narative and says something about today with a respectful nod to yesterday.
What measures and incentives do you support to protect and conserve local heritage?
As a newcomer I'm not 100% across what exact measures and incentives can be sought. I welcome the National Trust to point me to some of their favoured ideas.
What is the most important heritage protection issue in your local government area?
The convent in Myrtle Bank is a heritage site in the Ward of Fullarton where I am running for council. I have never seen it fully through my own eyes except for the top of the tower with the parapets. It amazes me that we have such a vast amount of beauty in the area tucked away and seldom seen. It looks like an incredible place to open to the public. Perhaps part of the eterage (is that the correct word for the space around a building?) can be the setting for a community edible landscape? The recent Residential DPA went too far in burying the convent inside a multitude of 4 and 5 story buildings. Such buildings would also destroy a perfectly good retirement village that is immaculate. I think we need to find a better solution than doing that.
What policies and programs will you advocate to protect and conserve heritage in your local area?
It would be ideal to have local documents past scanned for references to Unley properties and to add properties to the heritage list based on the level of interest in or importance of those stories. I would also be interested in having an empty homes officer. It appears there are some characterful homes being left to decay by developers so that they can bulldoze them. I have come across at least two such homes. Local residents are very concerned about these properties also.
Do you support local Councils retaining development approval powers for projects over $3m in value?
Yes!!! So much so I have started the League of Candidates Who'll Stand Up! Find the Facebook page here for details: https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1500371350212737&ref=bookmark I recommend that the National Trust share the page. There will be candidates from Unley, Burnside, NPSP, Mitcham, Hilton, and even Henley Beach. To name a few. Candidates are joining as I write this!
Do you have any other thoughts about the protection of heritage in your Council area?
Heritage is important. I am also of the persuasion that we can also be creating tomorrow's heritage today. However unfortunately the State Government's focus on quantity over quality is going to undermine everything we in Adelaide hold dear. Sometimes heritage can be the open space where a magnificent tree has been allowed to grow. I feel our State Government is losing touch with the heritage of Adelaide; a place with space.