Caught between stools

Pooseum sign an ‘eyesore’

THE sign for a new tourist attraction in historic Richmond will soon come down because the council says it causes the town to lose its heritage significance.

Karin Koch opened the Pooseum science museum at Richmond — dedicated entirely to dung — last year.

The Pooseum is on a mission to educate visitors about the intriguing world of animal droppings, and showcases a range of information panels and interactive displays unveiling fascinating faeces facts.

Ms Koch said the sign at the front would be gone on Monday because the Clarence City Council was enforcing its removal due to it not contributing positively to the streetscape of Richmond, and that it had caused the town “to lose its historic cultural heritage significance”.

“The sign was put up in May 2018. I was unaware that I needed council approval as I had been given wrong information,” she said.

“I would have been happy to obtain a permit retroactively and pay the fee, but [heritage adviser] Tony Purse claimed that the sign was “sticking out like a sore thumb” and that it had to go.

“The council’s way of making decisions is especially arbitrary, dubious and hypocritical in the light of their approval of a planning permit application for a large, modern-looking building complex directly opposite the Pooseum (the redeveloped Richmond Maze), while claiming that the museum’s business sign is damaging to Richmond’s heritage value.

“The plans for the new maze were approved by the council in August 2015, but since then the building site has been neglected and become an incredible eyesore for both locals and tourists.”

Clarence Mayor Doug Chipman encouraged Ms Koch to contact the council’s planning department.

“She needs to speak to our planning staff about what sort of sign would be permitted, and then it’s just a formality to lodge the application,” he said.

“There may be ways to adapt the existing sign to change it to fit in with the planning scheme.”