By Jesse Graham
WARBURTON’S sculpture house is here to stay – for now, at least – with the Yarra Ranges Council open to working with its owner following media reports of demolition.
Media outlets have recently reported that the sculpture house on Highfield Road was under threat, with the council threatening partial demolition due to safety fears and a lack of permits.
The house, built by Robert Prudhoe (also known as Boinga Bob) features many sculptures and elaborate wooden structures, built over two decades, on top of the town’s former stationmaster’s house and covers a large area on both sides of Highfield Road.
The Mail reported in 2013 that the council had issued a demolition order on parts of the sprawling and elaborate building previously damaged by fire, as well as any part encroaching on council’s land.
The council’s reasoning for the order was that it could be liable for injuries that occur at the site and that parts of the house had been erected without building permits.
The Warburton community subsequently rallied behind Mr Prudhoe, with a Facebook group called Save Boinga Bob’s House gaining more than 2000 members since the order was made.
Both Mr Prudhoe and the council did not follow up the order’s demands.
However, in the last month, numerous media outlets have cited the three-year-old order to claim that the house was again under threat – but the council’s director of social and economic development Ali Wastie said no further order had been made since September, 2013.
“The council issued a building order in September 2013 requiring the building work that was carried out without a building permit to be demolished,” Ms Wastie said.
“However, the council has since been in discussions and negotiations with Mr Prudhoe to work towards a satisfactory resolution for all parties concerned with the end goal of ensuring that the structures are made safe.”
Ms Wastie said the council’s building surveyor and compliance officer inspected the site on 8 July, 2015, and advised Mr Prudhoe to “clean up the property and bring it up to a safe standard”.
“He has since experienced health issues and lacked the funding to carry this out,” she said.
“The council has been working with him to provide alternatives, including meeting safety standards or demolition.”
She said Mr Prudhoe was asked to engage a structural engineer about the matter.
Mr Prudhoe told the Mail he had not been asked to engage an engineer, and could not afford to on his pension, but that he was happy to work with the council to find a solution to the matter.
“I think, if they contact me in a nice way … we’ll work things out,” he said.
He acknowledged that work had been undertaken without permits and said that some parts of the house had been exposed to weather and needed work, but that there was “no reason to demolish it”.
“Rather than have my artwork demolished, I think there’s definitely room for compromise – especially bearing in mind the local community like it and tourists come from all over the place to look at it, and that’s bringing business into Warburton,” Mr Prudhoe said.
“I’m more than happy to work with the council, and the only reason I built this stuff is because I love Warburton.”
Ms Wastie said the council is able to pursue “enforcement action” through the Magistrates’ Court regarding the order.
“But our preference is to continue to work with Mr Prudhoe towards achieving a satisfactory resolution to this issue for all parties involved,” she said.
“The site and Mr Prudhoe himself are very much a part of the Warburton community – however, the structure must be safe in order for the community to continue to enjoy it.”
