ARARAT Rural City Council will move ahead with a plan to recognise and protect post-contact places and buildings across the region.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
At it’s December ordinary meeting, council members voted in favour of the Planning Scheme Amendment C39, which will see amendments to the Ararat Planning Scheme Heritage Overlay formally adopted.
The Heritage Overlay identifies historically, aesthetically and socially significant sites.
Alterations to those properties on the Heritage Overlay will then need to go through the council to determine what can and can not be done with them, though some may need to be referred on to the state government.
The amendment was publicly exhibited mid-year following the council’s ordinary meeting in February and received 21 submissions.
Planning Panels Victoria was appointed to independently review the amendment as well as the submissions accompanying it.
Of these, nine expressed support, five gave further information in respect to some places and seven were objections.
Some of the concerns raised in the submissions included:
- the un-viable cost of maintaining some of the properties, which are ‘rapidly deteriorating’;
- the heritage value of some buildings was too low to warrant their inclusion in the Heritage Overlay;
- some of the buildings contained asbestos;
- some of the trees included in the study posed or may pose a safety risk due to age.
Some of the recommendations in the panel report included:
- Removing the inclusion of some outbuildings to the Heritage Overlay ‘as the majority of elements that contributed to the significance of the place have been demolished’;
- Amending descriptions and data regarding some properties to reflect greater accuracy;
- The exemption of permit requirements for pine and cypress trees included in the Heritage Overlay ‘subject to the submission of an arborist report verifying that the tree or trees are unsound or in the late stages of senescence.’
Council accepted many of the panel’s recommendations but decided that a simpler approach with respect to trees would be to waive permit fees.
The Heritage Overlay will be applied to 102 individual places and three precincts.
The full panel report can be viewed here.
Ararat mayor, Councillor Peter Beales, said the scheme is now ready for submission to the Planning Minister, Richard Wynne.
“There has been extensive consultation with the community over many years to record our rural history and good support from landholders and local history groups, and we look forward to preserving these places for future generations,” he said.
“The adoption of the amendment will allow for the introduction of the Heritage Overlay and protection of this important part of the Ararat Rural City’s rich history.
“The next step in the process is submission to the state government for ministerial approval.”
There is no set timeline on the Minister’s response.
