The Hunter committee of the National Trust has called for a "proper" heritage assessment of what could be Newcastle's oldest timber building before it is knocked down to make way for the final stages of Iris Capital's Hunter Street Mall redevelopment.
The heritage concerns arise as the Anglican Dean of Newcastle, the Very Reverend Katherine Bowyer, added her voice to complaints about the proposed height of the development blocking views of Christ Church Cathedral.
National Trust Hunter chair Mark Metrikas and Newcastle Inner-City Residents Association dismissed as inadequate and "professionally embarrassing" a heritage impact statement which forms part of Iris' latest development application for the EastEnd complex.
Consultant City Plan's heritage impact statement says 74 King Street is a building "dating from pre-1930s" which was "most likely constructed in the late 19th/early 20th centuries".
The City Plan report classifies the vandalised building as having "little" heritage significance.
But Mr Metrikas said the two-storey house at 74 King Street dated back to the early 1860s and was likely "by far" the oldest timber building in the local government area.
"It's possibly the second oldest building in the city centre heritage conservation area, second only to the police lock-up and telegraph office," he said.
The house is not on the state heritage register, but City of Newcastle lists it as a "contributory" building in the inner-city heritage conservation area.
Mr Metrikas said the building was "certainly ancient by Newcastle standards".
Iris plans to build a 10-storey apartment building on the site of the 160-year-old house at the corner of King and Newcomen streets.
Mr Metrikas said the consultants had given the old building "short shrift".
"The heritage consultants have .. not done their job," he said. "It shouldn't be knocked down until it's had a proper assessment.
"Let's get some [further] analysis of the significance of the site and then go from there."
Mr Metrikas said the Gothic-style house was mostly likely designed and built by Mortimer Lewis Jnr, who worked for the Colonial Architect's Department overseeing the completion of Nobbys breakwater.
NICRA told the Newcastle Herald last month that Iris had strayed too far from its 2017 concept approval and now proposed an "over-development" of the site.
The new plans add three floors to the proposed building in front of the Newcastle Club and five storeys to another apartment tower on the site.
Dean Bowyer said on Wednesday that she was concerned about the loss of clear views of the cathedral from the waterfront given its "iconic status as one of the major heritage buildings in Newcastle".
"It's highlighted on the Newcastle council website as a heritage and cultural attraction," she said.
"When we have visitors from cruise ships, the thing they say when they come into the harbour is they want to visit the castle on the hill."
The council's planning policy had changed "a number of times" and now stated only that views of the cathedral "tower, roof-scape and pinnacles of the buttresses" warranted preservation.
Dean Bowyer said the proposed development would allow views of only the "central portion of the cathedral" instead of its "full length and breadth".
"Over the years this has been a gradual eroding of what was once a very firm commitment to preserve sight lines of the cathedral as an iconic building for Newcastle," she said.
Mr Metrikas said he was concerned about the EastEnd development's "cumulative" impact on heritage buildings along the length of the mall.
"That's the heart of the city. That's the old town that was laid out in 1823," he said.
"I think in the last local environment plan Newcastle council had to strike off five locally listed items which no longer exist, and several others have now been reduced to facades.
"All we're asking for is a pause to get some specialist assessment of 74 King Street."
The Newcastle Herald contacted Iris and City Plan for comment.
The project is being assessed by the Hunter Central Coast Regional Planning Panel.
