Heritage Expert Witnessing

As a qualified conservation architect and heritage planner, Paul Rappoport
is able to provide expert opinions in the New South Wales Land and
Environment Court. In cases where applications are refused by either
Councils or the Heritage Branch, applicants may elect to take the matter to
Court. In such cases, specialist reports are produced outlining the leading
evidence in support of an application.

Paul Rappoport has had experience in at least forty separate Land and
Environment Court cases - the judgments of which are reported on the
Court record. Opinions regarding views, curtilage, heritage fabric, levels
of significance, zones of significance, adaptive re-use and the extent of
modifications and demolition entailed - constitutes the nature and range of
Paul’s in-depth understanding of such legally contestable propositions.

Paul Rappoport is a strong advocate of practical solutions for all heritage
building types and fully supports the notion that developers provide the
opportunity for heritage conservation. At the heart of every heritage project
is a balance between the private right to develop land and the public
interest concern about heritage. In this sense, Rappoport believes that
sufficient opportunities need to be allowed for owners and developers in
return for their money spent on conserving buildings. This is Rappoport’s
over-arching philosophy and is applied to the well researched advice it
provides to its clients.