MEDIA RELEASE- WILLOW COURT BARRACKS PRECINCT RENEWAL WORKS
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DERWENT VALLEY COUNCIL
WILLOW COURT BARRACKS PRECINCT RENEWAL WORKS
July2013
“Restoration work on Willow Courtwill be moving to a higher and more exciting level over
the next few months”Chairman of the Derwent Valley Councils Willow Court Conservation
Special Committee David Llewellyn said today. “The work on repairing the windows at
Bronte has brought the building to life again, but there is much more to do.”
The Committee at its July meeting concluded an “Expressions of interest process”for work
on The Barracks, Bronte and landscaping surroundings of the heritage precinct. The
successful proponent was Xsquared Architects, incorporating Inspiring Place and the Centre
for Heritage at Oatlands. Xsquared was selected after a rigorous assessment from a very
competitive field of contenders and will lead a group of experienced specialists in
oversighting the next restoration stage of works.
“Our focus now is to finalise works approvals with the various regulatory bodies and to
current works.
David Llewellyn again emphasised that local contractors have already been used on current
works and local contractors will be actively pursued for the new works once approvals
secured.
Restoration works on The Barracks will start very soon, including repairs to exterior and
interior elements of the building, and opening up other rooms.
Willow Court is a nationally recognised heritage precinct, of great importance to the region
and nation. The most historic of the many buildings that make up the site is The Barracks,
built around 1830. The Barracks was built as Tasmania’s first hospital for invalid convicts but
soon was exclusively used as a ‘lunatic asylum’.
“The project is an excellent example of collaboration between local, State and Federal
governments, and I am keen to build on that collaborative effort in order to see full use of
the buildings at Willow Court”,David Llewellyn reiterated.
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Nick Jarvis