Jenny is the Heritage Officer employed by the Port Adelaide Enfield City Council. Part of her role

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Question:

Jenny is the Heritage Officer employed by the Port Adelaide Enfield City Council. Part of her role is to assess nominations for heritage listing of local buildings within the council area. The Heritage List was developed in 2009 to preserve historically significant properties within the council area - by imposing more stringent planning rules upon those buildings.

In accordance with clause 17 of the Council's Heritage Nomination and Listing Rules, before Jenny can approve a nomination she must be satisfied on reasonable grounds of the following:

that the building is more than 50 years old and is located within the council boundary;
that the building is of historical significance to the people of South Australia or the Port Adelaide region.

'Historical significance' is defined under clause 4 as being established by evidence of one or more of the following characteristics:

the building is significant due to its special association with the life or works of person, or group of persons, of importance to the region's history;
the building is significant in exhibiting architectural, design or structural features that are particular to a certain historical period, or which are unique in some way;
the building is significant for having a special connection with a group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons.

In the event of a dispute regarding the nomination of a particular building, the Heritage Officer is required under clause 19 to seek two independent assessment reports of the historical significance of the nominated building. One assessment must be carried out by an expert in architecture, and the other assessment must be conducted by an expert in South Australian history.

The local Messenger has recently reported on planned extensions to the Largs Pier Hotel, which will include a sizeable gaming room, as well as a large car park. The plans reportedly involve the purchase of 4 adjoining properties.

Roger is the president of the Port Adelaide Historical Society and is appalled when he reads the story in the Messenger. He immediately begins campaigning against the proposed development, and nominates the house adjoining the Hotel (on the Esplanade side) for heritage listing, as well as the Hotel itself. Both buildings were built in the 1880's.

Bev and Paul live in the house next door to the Hotel on the Esplanade and have recently retired. Their house includes architectural features which were unique to houses built in the late 1800's. They had planned on selling up and moving to Victor Harbor, and were actually delighted to hear that the Hotel was planning on purchasing the surrounding houses. However, they both felt quite deflated when they received a letter from Jenny notifying them of the nomination of their house for heritage listing - which they felt would reduce the house's market value. In a letter responding to Jenny's original letter they made the following points, arguing against the heritage nomination:

The cottage had been extensively renovated in 2013 and only the front rooms (approximately 40% of the home) had retained their original character. The rest of the house had been bulldozed and a new extension had been built;
The Esplanade was full of new modern homes in-between the old homes and location on the Esplanade alone should be seen as being irrelevant to assessing the historic significance of their home.

Due to the dispute over the house's historical significance, Jenny sought independent assessment reports from a Professor of Architecture at the University of South Australia and a renowned historian from the South Australian Museum. The historian's assessment is mixed, but ultimately recommends (following a detailed analysis and in somewhat qualified terms) the heritage listing of Bev and Paul's house. The Professor of Architecture sends a short email just before leaving to attend a conference in the United States. In a one sentence email, he states simply that he does not support the heritage nomination of Bev and Paul's home.

Jenny's decision is ultimately made in Bev and Paul's favour, on the basis that "any heritage value of the property was limited to less than 50% of the building and to have 'historical significance' at least 50% of a building should have some historical value". Roger, however, is not deterred and after discovering that the Professor lives on the Esplanade at Semaphore (a few hundred metres south of the Largs Pier Hotel), he seeks your advice in respect of challenging Jenny's decision.

Advise Roger as to whether any errors of law have potentially been made by Jenny.