Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2022L00620:body:0:p36
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2022L00620
Segment Type: other
Provision Reference: 
Character Range: 96701–99316

overview
West Block is an office building that comprises a series of four three-storey wings (or blocks) of varying footprint connected on a north-south axis. – A Block is at the north, with D Block at the south.  There is a triangular at-grade car park to the west of the building, which is contemporary with the site's establishment and is within Block 3, Section 23 Parkes (part).  A larger car park to the east of West Block, which dates from the late-1950s and is located on higher ground, is not within the site boundary.
An embankment (c. 3m high) to the east of the main building dates to c. 1926, when the site was partially levelled.  The Dugout, a 1942 air raid shelter that has been in use as a substation since 1945, is built into the embankment, as is a gas main screened by a brick enclosure (built in the 1980s).  The asymmetrical site slopes approximately five metres down from east to west, following the gradient of Camp Hill.
The immediate interfaces of the subject site are as follows:
      * To the north of the site is Queen Victoria Terrace (originally Kingston Street), with the enclosed rose garden of the Provisional Parliament House to the north-east.  The north elevation of A Block is set back approximately 15 metres from Queen Victoria Terrace;
      * A modern slip road giving access to State Circle from Commonwealth Avenue is to the south, with a very shallow set-back from D Block (approximately three metres at its closest point);
      * To the east, at the top of the embankment, is the c. late-1950s car park, which was extended to its present dimensions in the 1980s; and
      * Commonwealth Avenue is to the west, with Embassies and High Commissions on the west side of the Avenue.
There is a service road to the west of the West Block, separating the building from the triangular car park.  This has been a cul-de-sac since the late-1980s, but originally extended to Commonwealth Avenue.  Access to the rear (east) of West Block is via a sealed laneway to the north of A Block.
Remnants of the formal 1920s landscape treatment, including mature deciduous trees and some hedges, are evident to the north and east of the subject site, addressing both sides of Queen Victoria Terrace and surrounding the triangular car park.  The native plantings to the south and south-east of West Block are generally more recent.
The site includes no significant objects or items of moveable heritage.

2.10.2            West Block
West Block is raised on a brick plinth, to bring the parapet up to approximately the same height (AHD 581.1) as East Block, which is located 450 metres to