The extent of conservation works for one of Goulburn's earliest colonial homes will be scaled back after a decision made by Goulburn Mulwaree Council earlier this month.
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Council will renegotiate the scope of the project after a tender for the first stage of conservation works for St Clair Villa Museum and Archives came in too expensive.
History Goulburn president Jennifer Lamb said she hoped "something goes right this year and we can go ahead with the work".
"These things always take a lot longer especially when dealing with a state heritage listed building," she said.
"It's really important to stress the support of council [and council staff] they've had to deal with all sorts of issues that come up with an old building."
Priority works for St Clair include: a new roof, guttering and downpipes, sub-floor ventilation, removal of asbestos and mould, demolition and reconstruction of the wash house, ramp construction, shed demolition and wall, floor, ceiling, window and door repairs.
Including grant funding a total budget of $1 million is available for completion of the project.
The tender by Longstone Pty Ltd came in too expensive due to the extent of work required to address mould and moisture, hand excavation, removal of asbestos and risks attached to conservation of a 1840s heritage building.
The revised works will result in additional areas of the building not being accessible to the public. This is in addition to the ground floor of the villa and four sets of internal stairs due to budget restrictions and negotiations with NSW Office Environment and Heritage.
Councillor Andrew Banfield said he thought council should "bite the bullet" and find the money to carry out the full scope of works.
"I want to find the money and I want to fix it," he said.
History Goulburn has used St Clair as its home base since 1977. In late 2017 the group relocated to the building next door to enable restoration.
Ms Lamb said restoration of an old building was an "arduous" task.
"In the meantime we still go on and we get a lot of people in our research centre next door," she said.
"St Clair is a much loved building and I've always thought it's really interesting because it's stuck between two other buildings that are starkly different.
"This building, like so many others, is important because they remind us there was sometime before today and encapsulates so many stories."
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