Metropolitan Melbourne

Royal Exhibition Buildings and Carlton Gardens

A draft World Heritage Management Plan has been prepared and will be submitted to the Minister for Planning for approval. Prior to submitting the draft plan to the Minister, the Steering Committee sought submissions from the public on the draft plan. The submissions were considered by the Steering Committee in August 2011. The draft plan is still available for viewing here.

City of Melboune - see Save our City

City of Boroondara

April 2012 We were a party to Planning Panels Victoria consideration of Hawthorn Heritage Precincts Study amendment C99 in October 2011. The precincts are West Hawthorn Village, Manningtree Road area, Glenferrie Road Activity Centre area Lisson Grove area. The matter of 733 Glenferrie Road (1902 doctors surgery & residence), the demolition of which has already been subject of a VCAT hearing, was the subject to a further two days of hearings in November, at which we also appeared. The Planning Panel has now recommneded implementation of the heritage controls.

City of Frankston

April 2012. Amendment C63 seeks to provide permanent protection for trees, groups of trees and vegetation that have been identified as ‘significant’ because of their rarity, size, form, age, habitat value, historic or cultural association or their contribution to the landscape. We appreared at the Panel to support Council and the Planning Panel has recommended implementaiton of the controls.

City of Maribyrnong

Amendment C90 update September 2010. At this stage, the Amendment has been deferred. It is now coupled with the recently announced Regional Rail Link. An encouraging outcome of discussions between National Trust and DPCD is the commissioning of a Gap Study, to be funded by the DPCD. The existing HOs reflect Victorian and Federation period places. Between-the-wars and post-WW2 sites were not included in the Maribyrnong Heritage Review (2001). The Gap Study is expected to explore gaps in the thematic history; it will recommend where further research is required; and it will review the existing controls. It is also expected to recommend the guideline parameters, and scope the priorities of further work.

June 2010. Maribyrnong Planning Scheme amendment C90 on exhibition. The Trust's Inner West Branch and Head Office has made a submission. The amendment seeks to apply a Comprehensive Development Zone over the Footscray Central Activites District. The explanatory report states: "Applying the CDZ4 uniformly over the CAD (with the exception of the PDZ zoned land) will eliminate the suite of zones currently applicable within this area. The current zones impose provisions that at times are incompatible and conflict with the strategic vision for Footscray as outlined in the Footscray SFP and the CDP." The concern with C90 is the mechanisms proposed in the amendment do not adequately define the management of the interface of heritage places and the preferred greater density.

City of Moreland

April 2012. The City's bluestone laneways are threatened by a recently approved policy of replacement by concrete for laneways without a heritage overlay. A local action group is fighting hard for their protection. http://savebrunswickbluestonelanes.com/

The advantage of traditionally set bluestone pitchers is that they can settle, move and any problems are localised and can be easily repaired. Concrete repairs are not cheap. Properly set bluestone pitchers on a permeable base allows storm water to filter away. Drainage becomes a huge issue with impermeable concrete contributing to increased run-off, ponding and flooding.

Whilst traditional bluestone laneway surfaces in heritage overlay areas will be retained, a proper survey looking at the potential significance of all laneways is needed before any other laneways are condemned to disappear under concrete.

We have written to the City urging them to review the decision by urgently undertaking a proper assessment of the significance of all its unprotected laneways and provide heritage overlays to significant laneways before enacting any work entertained in replacement policy.

City of Stonnington

We congratulate the City of Stonnington for its ongoing commitment to protecting its significant heritage places. A Heritage Strategy Action Plan was adopted by Stonnington Council in 2006 following the preparation of a Thematic Environmental History for the city. The Council recognised the need to undertake further work to protect those places and precincts that were not identified in previous studies or not protected by the planning scheme.

As part of the Heritage Strategy implementation, Stonnington Council undertook a gap study to identify potential additional heritage precincts. The Council is now rolling out a number of planning scheme amendments to provide permanent heritage protection for these precincts. As part of the strategy action plan, the Council is also investigating additional individual properties for inclusion into the heritage overlay and reviewing existing citations for properties already protected. For further information about Stonnington’s successful implementation of its heritage strategy visit www.stonnington.vic.gov.au.

Amendment C127 has given heritage protection to half-a-dozen well known pubs in the Prharan and Windsor area, including The Hotel Max in Commercial Road, Prahran. Read more on Stonnington's website.

City of Yarra

September 2010. Amendment C85 This amendment was finally approved by the Minister for Planning and gazetted in September 2010. The Council succeeded in amedning the proposed DPCD wording to better protect contributory heritage buildings and elements from demolition; for viewlines for extensions to be drawn to protect heritage streetscapes; to protect culturally significant gardens, and to give priority to substance of heritage controls over language.

Shire of Yarra Ranges

Amendment C89 (Part 2) has now been gazetted and affects a total of 42 properties within the townships of Belgrave and Lilydale. There are 35 properties within Lilydale recommended for heritage protection in the report prepared by Lovell Chen Architects and Heritage Consultants: Lilydale’s Historic Houses Precinct June 2009. The amendment also applies to properties in Belgrave recommended in Lovell Chen’s report ‘The Bend Heritage Precinct Citation August 2009’. More information at Yarra Ranges website.