DOWN BUT NOT OUT
14 February 2002

Mawland Hotel Management, the prospective lessee of the Quarantine Station, expects to be operating services at the site by the end of the year, despite last week's fire that gutted the main hospital building.

The company's creative director, Simon McArthur, believes the approval process for what has been an eight year project, has "about two to three months" to run.

A Commission of Inquiry into environmental aspects of the proposed lease is now underway and the EIS has to be approved before work can start on converting the site into a hotel, conference centre and educational facility,

"We're hoping for a favourable outcome from the inquiry," Mr. McArthur said.

Mawland hopes to have the day car park, the visitor centre and the harborside restaurant operating by Christmas.

"For the first time, people will be able to visit the site for free, have a cup of coffee, take in the visitor centre and leave," Mr. McArthur said.

What they won't be able to see are the two buildings destroyed by fire in the past four months.

Arsonists destroyed most of an old accommodation building in October last year, and an electrical fault is being blamed for the destruction of the hospital building last week.

Mr. McArthur described last Thursday as the worst day in the entire eight years of Mawland's involvement.

"It was probably the building that had the most emotional impact of all on the site," he said.

"We would prefer to reconstruct it, but will wait for advice from National Parks and Wildlife and the NSW Heritage Council."

In the wake of last Friday's fire, Manly Council has called on the NSW Government to immediately withdraw from the leasing process and provide adequate funding to maintain the Quarantine Station in public hands.

It also condemned the Government for its neglect of the site.

Mr. McArthur said community angst was more about what was happening to the Quarantine Station than the actual lease.

"A lot of people are concerned about fixing the Quarantine Station and making it better," he said.

"So far, questions at the Commission of Inquiry have centered on 'ensuites and parking', rather than environmental matters."

The Commission is expected to report in March, but a final decision on the project will come from the Urban Affairs and Planning Minister.