GEORGE TOWN (March 1, 2010): George Town's World Heritage status will be endangered in two years' time if heritage building owners continue to renovate their buildings without adhering to restoration guidelines set by the World Heritage Office (WHO) and Penang Island Municipal Council.

State executive councillor Chow Kon Yeow said the whole facade of George Town and its unique heritage values will be altered in two years if the renovation activities by building owners are not checked.

In view of this, the council and WHO have set up a heritage taskforce consisting of officers from various council departments such as the enforcement, licensing, planning and engineering units to monitor renovation work on heritage buildings in the World Heritage zone.

Chow said WHO and the council have called for roundtable meetings to curb this worrying trend and also to create outreach programmes to educate heritage building owners, architects and contractors.

"We need these building owners to know that they must protect the outstanding universal values (OUV) of their buildings in order to preserve the value of their buildings," he said.

According to WHO general manager Maimunah Mohd Sharif, George Town's heritage status depends on three OUVs and it is critical that conservation and development efforts within the heritage zone protect these.

The three OUVs cover the multicultural trading aspect, the multicultural living heritage aspect, and the multicultural architecture and townscape aspect.

She said many building owners are not aware that they have to submit an application to the council for approval when they do renovation work or even minor repair work on their buildings.

Between December and January, the heritage taskforce managed to detect 57 cases of non-compliance where heritage building owners conducted renovation work without permits from the council, she said.

"That's why we have also come up with a strategy to go down to the ground to directly engage with the residents and building owners so that they will fully understand how to protect the OUVs of their buildings," Maimunah said.

WHO, together with Arts-Ed, Penang Heritage Trust and the council, will be going from street to street within the heritage zone to conduct outreach and education programmes on the preservation of the OUVs.

According to Chow, it is important to educate building owners so that they know they have to apply for permits before starting restoration work rather than to stop them after they have started the work as it may be too late.

"We need building owners to know that without permits, they will be issued with stop-work order and if it's already completed, they may have trouble getting licences for their businesses in the buildings as the renovation work would not comply with council guidelines," he said.

Building owners may go to the WHO Conservation Information Counter for a complete if they need information on how to submit their applications for restoration work.

"WHO will provide full assistance to them so that they can submit proper applications," he said.

There are more than 7,000 heritage buildings in George Town and many of them are being converted for businesses like restaurants, motels and bars to cash in on the increase in tourists following the attainment of Unesco's world heritage status. -- theSun

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