Rockingham councillors vote to save Chesterfield Dairy from demolition

City of Rockingham councillors have voted against a motion that would have resulted in the demolition of the Chesterfield Dairy. Councillors agreed 10-1 with a motion from Cr Mark Jones that the dairy site within the Chesterfield Inn precinct was an important heritage site in the Rockingham area and should be maintained. “The building and more importantly local history within the community, we get a second chance for the building to be conserved,” Cr Jones said. “This building is a part of our local history and we should protect it for future generations.” The city’s chief executive will now start discussions with the property owner on the urgent works required to conserve the dairy. The Chesterfield Inn was constructed in the 1850s, becoming a well known travel stopping point before being used for grazing cattle. Conservation works were carried out at the site in 2018 to preserve its history. The application for its demolition came from Landcorp, which said it could constrain industrial development. Deputy mayor Hayley Edwards voted against the motion, saying “demolition of the site would not have any significant impact on the existing heritage site”. The Heritage Council of WA had supported the application subject to conditions such as the owner entering a heritage site agreement, limestone blocks from the building being retained and a heritage agreement being prepared and submitted.