Draft Amendment C258 Heritage Policies Review / 21 June 2016
Presenter: Kate Vinot Director City Place and Strategy
Purpose and background
1. The purpose of this report is to seek Future Melbourne Committee endorsement of the Heritage Policies Review (the HPR), including the draft Statements of Significance and draft heritage policies, and request the Minister for Planning’s authorisation to exhibit Amendment C258 Heritage Policies Review.
2. The HPR is not a heritage review of significant places or precincts. The HPR presents a review of the Local Heritage Planning Policies in the Melbourne Planning Scheme. It also creates statements of significance for existing large scale precincts; and replaces the A to D grading system in line with the Department of Environment Land, Water and Planning Practice Note and Planning Panels Victoria directions.
Key issues
3. Amendment C258 is an important step in Council’s overall program to protect our City’s heritage. The HPR (Attachment 2) and the heritage gradings review (Attachment 3) were undertaken in order to provide a modernised and stronger heritage protection regime for the City.
4. Community engagement was undertaken on the draft new statements of significance and draft new heritage policies in December 2015 and February 2016. Thirty submissions were received.
5. Management has considered the community feedback received on the HPR, draft new statements of significance and draft new policies. The summary of submissions and Management’s response, following advice from consultants Lovell Chen, is provided in Attachment 4.
6. The draft Amendment C258 (Attachment 5) proposes to:
6.1. replace the current local heritage policies, Clauses 22.04 and 22.05 of the Melbourne Planning Scheme, with revised heritage policies which provide sound guidance for the assessment of planning applications within and outside the Capital City Zone (CCZ). The purpose of heritage policies is to provide greater clarity and certainty for developers and the community with regard to protecting the heritage significance of heritage places.
6.2. replace the incorporated document Heritage Places Inventory October 2014 with a new Heritage Inventory 2016, which replaces the current A to D grading system with the Significant /Contributory grading system. This document does not include heritage places located within City North, Arden-Macaulay, and those parts of Kensington affected by Amendment C215, which have been the subject of their own Amendments. These properties will be included into the new Heritage Inventory should Amendment C258 be approved. All other areas that have not been subject to a detailed heritage review will be reviewed incrementally as set out in the Heritage Strategy’s program, commencing with the West Melbourne Heritage Review (authorisation to exhibit has been sought), Hoddle Grid Heritage Review (currently being scoped) and the Southbank and Fishermans Bend Heritage Review (currently being scoped). Other areas will follow.
6.3. insert a new incorporated document Heritage Precincts Statement of Significance 2016, including:
6.3.1. six new statements of significance for the existing large scale heritage precincts outside the CCZ. These provide local context for, and thereby assist in, the assessment of planning permit applications in these areas
6.3.2. the existing statements of significance currently contained within the Heritage Places within the CCZ policy.
6.4. remove the South Melbourne heritage precinct (HO5) from the Schedule to the Heritage Overlay as it covers specific roads and properties of no heritage value.
Recommendation from management
7. That the Future Melbourne Committee resolves to seek authorisation from the Minister for Planning for the City of Melbourne to prepare and exhibit Planning Scheme Amendment C258 (refer Attachment 5).
Supporting Attachment
Legal
1. Divisions 1 and 2 of Part 3 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 (Act) deal with planning scheme amendments and set out the relevant provisions in relation to the exhibition and notification of proposed planning scheme amendments as well as the process for public submissions and the consideration of those submissions by the planning authority or an appointed panel.
The recommendation set out in the report is therefore consistent with the Act.
Finance
2. The costs for the exhibition of draft Amendment C258 are provided for in the current budget.
Conflict of interest
3. No member of Council staff, or other person engaged under a contract, involved in advising on or preparing this report has declared a direct or indirect interest in relation to the matter of the report.
Stakeholder consultation
4. In the first part of 2015, community consultation and targeted stakeholder consultation was undertaken in conjunction with Lovell Chen and engagement specialist Capire Consulting Group to inform the drafting of the statements of significance and of the revised local policies. This consultation included community workshops and heritage walks in each of the six large heritage precincts outside the CCZ, meetings with residents groups and their associated planning and heritage groups, online engagement through Participate Melbourne and meetings with key internal and external stakeholders. Refer to Appendix E of Attachment 2 for details.
5. From mid-December 2015 to mid-February 2016, community engagement was undertaken on draft new statements of significance and draft new heritage policies. Thirty submissions were received, including from the following associations/organisations: North and West Melbourne Association; Carlton Residents Association; East Melbourne Historical Society; National Trust; Melbourne Heritage Action; Hotham History Project; Parkville Association Inc.; RBA Architects + Conservation Consultants; and, Melbourne South Yarra Residents Group. Refer to Attachment 4 for a summary of the submissions received.
6. Formal public consultation on the proposed new statements of significance, the proposed revised local policies and the proposed heritage grading translation will be undertaken through the exhibition of Planning Scheme Amendment C258, subject to authorisation being granted by the Minister for Planning.
Relation to Council policy
7. The HPR, together with the associated draft Amendment C258, is a 2015-16 Annual Plan initiative and addresses three actions in Council’s adopted Heritage Strategy 2013.
Environmental sustainability
8. The identification, conservation and integration of the heritage fabric can reduce building demolition and new construction waste and conserve the embodied energy of existing buildings.
Attachments:
1. Supporting Attachment
2. Lovell Chen’s heritage policies review methodology report
3. Lovell Chen’s gradings review methodology report
4. Summary and response to submissions
5. Draft amendment documentation for authorisation 0