Save our City
GiveNow.com. Donated funds will be used to secure the best professional support to advocate against inappropriate development and for improved heritage and height controls in the CBD. Some of the issues we are campaigning on can be viewed below. Recent issues include demolition of Ampol House, and the need for improved height controls in heritage sensitive areas of the CBD. Key areas of expenditure for the Trust are legal advice, and legal and expert witness appearances in planning jurisdictions.
All donations are tax-deductible and donors receive an immediate receipt. Donate now at GiveNow.com
Melbourne Heritage Action
In June 2010 the Trust auspiced the creation of a new heritage group specifically for Melbourne: Melbourne Heritage Action (MHA).
MHA is a Special Interest Volunteer Group of the Trust and has its own voice on heritage issues in Melbourne's CBD.
Celtic Club
October 2011. An application for this building has again been lodged for a tall tower, this time 48 storeys. Our objections are as for the last proposal in September 2010, namely that the proposal will be reducing the historic building to a façade, which would be totally overwhelmed by a new tower rising right up behind.
We believe this is a completely inappropriate way to treat what is obviously a fine heritage building, one that should have been given heritage protection many years ago. In fact this extreme facading, where a tower to protrude straight up out of a preserved façade, is not something that has ever been permitted in the central city. While some buildings have had only the façade retained, such as the T&G building, the new building behind is no taller, and so the historic external appearance is maintained. Report in Irish Echo.
Younghusband Wool Stores, Kensington
November 2011. The Melbourne City Council’s Future Melbourne Committee has unanimously rejected a plan to rezone the Younghusband Wool Store and turn it into apartments. Closed more than 20 years ago, the massive 110-year-old former wool store is currently home to more than 50 artists' studios and small businesses, The owners had sought to rezone the site from industrial to mixed use, and demolish much of the wool store. The Trust was one of nearly 400 objecting submitters, and also spoke against the proposal at the meeting. Lord Mayor Robert Doyle proposed the motion to abandon the rezoning before a packed audience of more then 200 people.
The stores were constructed from c1901. At the turn of the twentieth century the North Melbourne-Kensington area had the most Woolstores of any inner suburb, due largely to the increasing use of rail. Of these, Younghusband. the Commonwealth Wool & Produce Co and the similarly imposing warehouse of the Victorian Producers Co-operative are the only extant examples.
 |
 |
100 Collins Street - a win !
 |
Built in 1955, designed by J A La Gerche, this was one of the first city buildings erected after post WWII restrictions were lifted in 1954, and was the first 'international style' modernist glass box high rise to appear on Melbourne's streets (albeit only the 13 floors that 132ft height limit allowed) . Out of all the 1950s and 60s office blocks in the city, this is one of the very few that have retained the ground level intact, notably the crisp minimalist terrazzo and aluminium-framed shopfronts. A proposal to combine all three shops into one bank outlet with an entirely new shopfront was opposed by the Trust. Fortunately, being A graded and within the Collins East heritage precinct, a sympathetic Council, and a change in name of the client, led to the design being changed completely, retaining all original elements. |
 |
 |
 |
Ampol House
30 March 2011. VCAT has granted a permit for demolition of Ampol House. Unfortunately the debate has been cast into the public eye as an 'either-or' situaiton - demolish a heritage listed building or lose the opportunity for a new medical research facility for the University of Melbourne. Those were the circumstances that VCAT had to decide upon ("net community benefit") and therefore the decision was somewhat inevitable, despite the City of Melbourne putting up a fight at VCAT. The real problem was that the University slected and acquired a site they knew had a heritage lisitng and went ahead despite the availability of other land and buildings close by. Read report in The Age. View report on Channel Ten news. A summary of the implications has been prepared by Environmental Defenders Office.
 |
 |
 |
 |
80 Collins Street / Le Louvre |
||||
 and Exhibition |
 |
|||
 |
 |
|||
May 2011 Minister for Planning Mathew Guy has issued a permit for this development. The permitted scheme includes an L-shaped 33 level office tower with a front wing to be supported on legs, cantilevered above new ground level retail development and the historic buildings below. The front of this wing will be setback only 5.5m from the Collins Street boundary, and cantilever over the historic Le Louvre shop. Read report in The Age. Whilst we commend the developers, QIC, for keeping us informed and modifying the design somewhat to address our concerns, it ignores hard-fought setback standards for the Collins Street East precinct. The heritage buildings were saved from demolition in the 1970s, and new towers since then have been set well back, at least 10m, in order to preserve the low-scale heritage setting. We are considering an appeal at VCAT.
February 2011 A fourth variation of this design has just been presented. The front of the tower is now set back 6m from Collins Street, and Le Louvre is treated more sympathetically. The new tower would still rob this part of Collins Street of the little sunlight that still gets through
February 2009 An office tower is proposed by the Queensland Investment Corporation in front of Nauru House, now known as 80 Collins Street. While the new ground level glass boxes would go some way to repair the damage left when heritage buildings were demolished in the 1970s, the tower would completely dominate the famous 'Paris End' of Collins Street. Partly supported on legs, perched above the old and new buildings, it would be built to the very edge of the street for the full height of 40+ storeys. It would especially dominate heritage buildings at its base such as the Le Louvre store (click here for the classification) and the 1867 townhouse on the corner.
The proposal ignores the long established principle that any large tower in Collins Street, especially at the ‘Paris End’, can only achieve true visual separation from the heritage dominated streetscape by being setback the preferred 10m from the street boundary. The principle of constructing a large new building suspended or cantilevered above a heritage building or streetscape is one that is vigorously opposed. This especially applies where the new construction hovers above the entire building or streetscape.
|
The Central City Advisory Committee |
|
December 2010 The new Coalition Government has abandoned The Central City Advisory Committee appointed in mid-2010 by former Planning Minister Justin Madden in the wake of the Windsor Hotel controversy to provide the City of Melbourne with greater input into major decisions in the CBD. Read The Age article. |
City Buildings unprotected
 Warehouse c1906 (now Hotel Lindrum) In the mid 20th century it housed a noted billiard saloon, operated by the widow of one of Australia’s most famous players, Walter Lindrum – a name kept by the hotel, along with a billiard table in the lounge.  Argus Building 1926 - former headquarters of Melbourne's Argus newspaper, one of the citys most popular until the 1960s.  Hoyts Cinema - completed in 1969, this is the largest work by Peter Muller, the Sydney-based architect noted for his house designs strongly inspired by the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, and indeed the largest "Wrightian" building in Australia. |
December 2011 The City of Melbourne has asked the Minister of Planning for a Panel to consider the submissions made in response ot the study. We expect a Panel would sit in the first half of 2012. 7 June 2011 Fantastic news! City of Melbourne Future Melbourne Planning Committee received the report recommending adding 98 buildings to the heritage overlay. There has been extensive media coverage in The Age,Sunday Age and Melbourne Leader. The recommendation is expected to go on formal exhibiiton shortly. 4 December 2010 We are very pleased that the City of Melbourne is finally taking action. Firstly, they have commissioned a Heritage Strategy which will outline the projects that need to be undertaken in order to bring heritage listings across the municipality up to date, and which is due to be completed in the first half of 2011. This has several components: the Strategy, including an Environmental History and Statement of Significance. Secondly, an urgent 'gap' study is being undertaken of about 100 individual buildings within the CBD. Most have been previously recommended for a heritage overlay but some additional places have also been suggested by us. A consultant has been appointed to examine all the buildings, and the building owners have been informed. Thirdly, a Built-Form review.This review is wide ranging, and started at the beginning of 2010 prompted by concerns with the number of tall buildings on small sites proposed, and permitted. A reference group was formed (including mainly City of Melbourne and DPCD representatives), and it has been looking at various aspects of the planning scheme, since Built Form controls and guidelines can be found in many places, not just Local Policy 22.01 Urban Design in the CCZ. We understand that this review will also look at all the height limits in the CBD. Refer to the City of Melbourne's website for more details. Even though Melbourne's CBD is the location of some of the most important and impressive buildings in Victoria, the range of buildings that are protected by City of Melbourne heritage controls has not been updated since 1984 - that's more than 25 years! As a result, many buildings that most people would believe are protected are not, especially many Art Deco and Mid Centruy Modern places; but notable buildings from earlier eras have also been missed. There are even concentrations of buildings that would make excellent new heritage precincts. The attached letter outlines the issues and documents many of the unprotected places in the CBD. Letter to MCC re heritage listings 2008 (PDF) 1.57 MB
The Lord Major responded with a promise to begin a Heritage Strategy, which is very welcome. Lord Mayor response to heritage listings (PDF) 190.94 kB
|
|
"Little Lon" group |
||
 Terraces (1870)  Nathan's Warehouse (1906) and Leitrim Hotel (1888)  |
May 2011 The precinct is now officially protected by a Heritage Overlay.The MCC has refused a retrospective permit for Nathan's warehouse, so perhaps it can be restored to its original appearance. Unfortunately Heritage Victoria have allowed the extensive alterations to Leitrim's Hotel, which will see all but the front and side walls retained, and a five storey building inserted, changing the skyline of the precinct fundamentally. February 2011 With no objections received, the heritage precinct is to be approved by the MCC next week. A proposal for extensive upper level additions to the Leitrim Hotel is however subject to a Heritage Victoria permit, and the original face brick of Nathan's Warehouse was recently rendered over without a permit. July 2010 Responding to a request by the Trust that the MCC consider protecting this row of buildings, the Melbourne City Council 'Future Melbourne' committee - planning subcommittee, met on 5 July 2010, and accepted the recommendation for Heritage Overlay protection. The MCC has now asked the Minister for an interim control, and will then advertise a Planning Scheme Amendment. Given the obvious importance of this row of 19th and early 20th century buidlngs, as outlined in the report by heritage consultant Graeme Butler & Assocs commissioned by Council. heritage protection should be the end result. This would be the first heritage listing instigated by the MCC for over 20 years. February 2010 Amongst the unprotected heritage buildings in the city is this row between Bennetts Lane and Evans Place in Little Lonsdale Street near Exhibition. The streetscape is considered one of the few intact remnants of the ‘little lon’ area, Melbourne’s 19th century underbelly, peopled by society's "outcasts", the very poor, aged, infirm or criminal, and home to many brothels. The former Exploration Hotel on the corner of Evans Lane was one of the many pubs that dotted this section of town, and the pair of terraces adjacent were built as accommodation attached to the hotel and are amongst the few residential places remaining in the central city. The elaborate 1888 'Leitrim hotel' would have provided more cheap accommodation. Nathan's Warehouse on the corner of Bennetts Lane, and the other warehouse in the middle of the block (1912) were part of the transformation of the area from low-cost accommodation to light industrial uses, especially the Chinese furniture making industry. |
|
Spencer Street Power Station |
||
 buildings and coal yard on corner of Spencerand Little Bourke Sts  Developer's proposal |
January 2011 Construction has commenced with the partial demolition of the buildings. September 2010 The Minister has issued a permit for this development This follows the first meeting of the new Central City Standing Advisory Commitee on 9th July, which considered the Minister's central city planning officer's report recommending approval of the scheme with a few minor alterations. Questions were raised about the density of the 4000 apartment, four tower scheme, and the treatment of the heritage buildngs has been slightly improved. June 2010 Following the 'accidental' demolition of the only original 1896 building on the site of the former Melbourne Power Station, Victoria's first municipal electric power station, only the 1908 office block facing Spencer Street and the "Economiser' buildings remain on the corner of Spencer and Little Bourke Streets. Despite protection by Heritage Overlay controls, the latest proposal assumed their demolition. Following a request for partial retention, they simply modified the design by altering the podium, leaving the tower suspended on legs passing through the roofs of the partly dismantled and then re-built buildings, subsuming them into the podium. Completely building over heritage-listed buildings is something that the Trust has resisted over many years, and if this were to be approved, it would set a very bad precedent indeed. |
|
Equity Trustees Building |
||
 Equity Chambers with proposed additons |
February 2011 The building, complete with permits, has been put up for sale. July 2010 The building has been added to the Victorian Heritage Rgister. A permit is being sought from Heritage Victoria for the development. Details here. Read recent articles in The Age - an opinion piece by Greg Barns (a part-time tenant in the building) and by Jason Dowling. March 2010 We have been advised that this development for conversion into apartments will retain the existing building and all the main significant interiors, including the Art Deco lifts, though not the office interiors on the upper floors. Six levels of new apartments are to be added above the roof, and a new 18-storey section is to be added at the rear of the site. |
|
Macquarie Bank Tower |
||
 View from Flinders Street Station steps  View with new tower |
This 17 storey office block in Flinders lane behind 171 Collins Street was approved by the former Minister for Planning in 2007. At 77m it is much taller than the historic buildings surrounding it, and nearly double the 'discretionary' height limit of 40m, which is mandatory on every other block along Swanston Street. As a Ministerial permit, no appeal relating to the height was possible (as was the case with the Windsor tower). This will be by far the largest exception in the 40m height limit area, highly visible in crucial views when approaching the city from the south (and providing unbeatable views from the top floors), as well as looming up behind St Paul's Cathedral itself. The semi-reflective 'fritted' glass cladding is depicted as if it will disappear into the sky, but it is likely to be far more visible in most lighting conditions than the images imply. |
|