Fifty years ago and still to many people heritage was simply old and glamorous looking buildings.  Perceptions of heritage are evolved considerably   Nowadays for many within our community heritage it is about ancestry and connection to land or place about landscapes (ancient or modern) trees or ruins.  To others it may be objects and photographs or traditions.  Just as our community is made richer by its diversity of ethnicity and cultures we need to acknowledge that others may see their heritage in differing forms than ourselves and celebrate the richness that brings.

The common thread across all perceptions is that heritage is about the stories that give us a sense of the past and of who we are - our cultural identity - which we wish to pass on to current and future generations.  Understanding cultural identity is essential to the well-being of our people.  The landscape setting of a gathering place a view to a sacred peak a building or structure an artefact or object a document or image physical evidence of these sorts may help reinforce and connect those stories to our environment and people.

The City manages heritage on a land and environment level - through the planning scheme and management of its reserves and built assets; on a collections level - through the management of objects and artworks; and on a documentary resource level - through managing historical images papers etc.

A common myth is that heritage is about freezing places in time about preventing change.  Heritage management is however about managing our cultural identity through the continuum of past present and future.  It is just as important to embrace change - which drives the social and intellectual evolution of our community - as it is to preserve heritage and thus heritage management requires balancing conservation needs with changing community values and needs.  It is impossible to keep everything we need ways to identify and assess places to determine which are the most important for us to keep as part of our heritage and fine ways to ensure those places have a sustainable future.

• What is a heritage place?
• What is a heritage overlay and what does it apply to?
• What if my property is included in a Heritage area or precinct?
• What is a place of cultural heritage significance?
• What process is followed in assessing heritage significance?
• How was my property identified as being of heritage significance?
• If a heritage overlay is applied to my property am I expected to restore my building to its original appearance?
• If a heritage overlay is applied to my property does this mean that I can not demolish my building?
• Is a planning permit required for repairs and maintenance?
• Will heritage listing affect the value of my property?
• How will the heritage overlay affect my building insurance?
•  How do I find the original heritage study place assessments?

Heritage places

A heritage place will always encompass an area of land or sea.  It may include no trace of past human activity but have importance as the location of an event as a place of traditional occupation resource harvesting or spiritual meaning.  Or it may have natural values as a geological feature as an indigenous planting or fauna habitat.

Most heritage places will include physical evidence of some form.  Often this is a construction of some type - a building group of buildings monument structure ruin or other archaeological site; or else some other form of human modification to the landscape - a land area modified by traditional fire management practices a scarred or blazed tree  a fish trap amine or quarry a canal a garden or avenue tree planting etc.

Heritage overlays

Heritage Overlays are created for those heritage places where it is necessary to conserve and manage future use and physical change through mandatory legal requirements.  Not all places warrant physical protection - for many the capture and retelling of stories is all that is required.  At other times heritage conservation may be achieved by alternate provisions for instance the inclusion of heritage places within a landscape overlay or public reserve.

Each Heritage Overlay is defined within the Greater Geelong Planning Scheme showing the location and extent of heritage controls over a particular heritage place - which may include a precinct containing a number of properties a single property or a part of a property.  The extent of an overlay can be seen on the planning scheme maps which are available at all Customer Service Centres or on the Department of Planning website https://mapshare.vic.gov.au/vicplan/

The Heritage Overlay provisions are set out at Clause 43.01 within all Victorian Local Planning Schemes. A local Schedule to the Heritage Overlay lists the properties affected by the Heritage Overlay and any additional controls that may apply to that particular site.

Under the Heritage Overlay a planning permit is required from Council to:

• subdivide or consolidate land
• demolish or remove a building (including part of a building)
• construct a building (including part of a building or a fence)
• alter the exterior of a building
• construct or carry out works
• construct or display a sign
• externally paint an unpainted surface (refer to note below)
• externally paint a building if the painting constitutes an advertisement.

In some instances external paint controls internal alteration controls and control over trees may also apply. The Schedule to the Heritage Overlay will identify whether these additional controls apply to your site.

Where a property is an Aboriginal heritage place it will be subject to the additional requirements of the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006 and Regulations 2018 and the Commonwealth Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984.

Property owners and developers are strongly encouraged to discuss proposals with Council prior to committing to a project.

Heritage area objectives

For properties within a heritage area or precinct the primary objective is to ensure the conservation of those elements that contribute to the areas significance. Generally these will be the visual attributes that give the area a cohesive and distinct streetscape character eg: the place may be in a commercial street of two-storey parapet fronted shops with awnings or verandahs or in a residential area of single-storey detached dwellings set back behind fences and gardens.  

Not every building in an area will be significant properties will generally be identified as individually significant (with their own overlay) contributory or non-contributory to the area overlay. 

Contributory buildings will generally be required to conserve their streetscape appearance to a historical period with only minor changes any major redevelopment being undertaken in the rear portion of the property.

Whilst the removal of non-contributory buildings is not usually a concern the redevelopment of those sites and the development of any vacant sites within the area is always a major concern as inappropriate development will have a permanent impact on the character of an area.  New development on those sites however needs to retain the visual character of the heritage area.  Generally the most critical issue will be the need for the height massing roof form setbacks to front and side boundaries will need to complement - but not necessarily replicate - the nearby contributory buildings.  For some character areas materials and colour schemes window format presence of porches or verandahs and whether the entry addresses the street may be important.

In most residential character areas the provision of new vehicle access/accommodation is a critical issue.  The modern suburban idiom of the street facade of a house being dominated by a wide garage door and vast expanse of paving with little garden will be inconsistent with the historical character of most areas.  Vehicle accommodation will need to discretely managed and may need to occur to the rear of any house.

Cultural heritage significance

Cultural heritage significance is a phrase used to describe the importance of a place or object to our community.  It is generally described as a number of component values including cultural value to First Nation peoples or for its historical aesthetic architectural archaeological scientific social or spiritual values.

Understanding what it is that makes a place or object significant is crucial to its future management.  Effectively those elements or attributes of a place that demonstrate or relate to its significance will be required to be retained and conserved with little change whilst those elements or attributes that are of no or little significance will have greater flexibility to be changed.  For objects the significance will effect whether it should remain within or be added to a collection and the level of conservation treatment it should receive.

Unfortunately for many of our early heritage overlays how the overall cultural heritage significance of a place is demonstrated by individual elements and attributes is not clearly described.  Significant elements of a place may include physical construction - all or part of a building that had a significant use or relates to a significant period or event architectural details that demonstrate a specific style outbuildings structures landforms designed gardens etc; may include significant indigenous or introduced plantings; may be spatial - an open or enclosed space where people gathered a view to the bay or a peak and the setting may be important aesthetically - as a backdrop or interface to the place or due to social or functional links to related places in the surrounding area.  Thus it may be desirable to get the advice of a heritage consultant or our heritage advisor as to what is significant before formulating any development plans for a heritage place.

Heritage significance assessment process

The process described relates to places but can also be applied to significant objects.

Heritage assessments are generally carried out by qualified and experienced professionals.

The process aims to identify what is important and why it is important.  

Assessment reports usually include a history and description of the place (or object) an assessment of the condition and integrity of the place and a comparative analysis to substantiate the significance of the place.  For heritage character areas the assessment may focus more on describing the visual character attributes and stylistic features across multiple properties within the area.

Places entered on the Victorian Heritage Register are assessed against a number of statutory criteria and on occasion these criteria are also used by persons assessing a place for a heritage overlay.

A Statement of Significance is now required for all places and areas on heritage overlays.  It constitutes a summary of the places cultural heritage significance - the most critical consideration in managing the place.  Unfortunately some of the older heritage overlays do not have an adequate Statement of Significance; the City is seeking to update all over time.

Heritage assessments for places and areas will generally describe management guidelines or heritage schedule requirements to guide future management and permit approvals.

Heritage property identification

Most heritage places are identified by Council during the process of carrying out a municipal heritage study or when undertaking a strategic planning review of an area.  

During the initial stages of such studies or reviews places of potential heritage significance will be identified by a heritage professional the community may be engaged in the nomination and review of these places.

Nominated places then undergo a heritage assessment in order to determine whether or not the place is of both a nature and level of cultural heritage significance that warrants statutory heritage protection at either a state or local level.

Heritage property restorations

The Heritage Overlay cannot force an owner to restore their property to a pre-existing state be it prior to creation of the overlay or prior to the present ownership.  Certainly the City encourages heritage property owners to remove unsympathetic accretions or additions that may have been added over time and restore earlier details that may have been removed where practicable as this not only can enhance the heritage value of the property but may also enhance the financial or commercial value of the property as an historical landmark feature.  To assist owners the City  also offers an incentive for restoration works through the Geelong Heritage Grant program and the provision of a heritage advisory service.

Nor does a Heritage Overlay force an owner to maintain their property to a higher standard than similar properties not within an overlay however there is a Neighbourhood Law that requires all property owner to maintain their properties in a fair and reasonable state.  This is especially critical  for commercial properties that are sitting unused awaiting redevelopment - such properties needed to kept secure and weatherproof so that their significant fabric does not degrade in the interim.

Heritage property demolitions

Being able to demolish a house or building on a heritage overlay depends on a number of factors. The primary purpose of the Heritage Overlay is to protect the heritage significance of a building place or area.

Heritage properties often include additions or outbuildings that do not contribute to the significance of the place and the demolition of these will unlikely be of any concern although the City will be interested in any new redevelopment on the same location.

Additions or outbuildings of some contributory value would only be considered for demolition if there was a wider conservation benefit and/or there removal or replacement was the only way of securing a new sustainable use.

Demolition of the primary heritage building will not generally be supported unless it poses a threat to persons and property that necessitates removal as other forms of stabilisation are impracticable.  Partial demolition of a key heritage element on the same basis may require that element to be reconstructed however if the entire building has to be demolished for safety reasons then rebuilding will not generally be enforced.

If a planning permit for demolition is refused it is possible to have this decision reviewed by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).

The City is presently exploring its options in preventing demolition by neglect of heritage buildings where owners fail to undertake reasonable maintenance until such time as a building collapses or demolition has to occur.  It is possible that some form of penalty or requirement for reconstruction may eventuate in such circumstances in future.

Heritage property repairs and maintenance

A planning permit is not required under the Heritage Overlay to carry out routine maintenance and repairs which do not change the appearance of the heritage place. If the repairs or maintenance involve replacing like with like then a planning permit may not be required.

For example a rusty iron roof may be replaced with a new iron roof but a planning permit would be required for a roof clad in different in materials (for example: to use tiles instead of iron).  Similarly replacing timber sash windows may be replaced with matching double-glazed timber windows but a planning permit would be required to replace timber sash windows with aluminium sashes.

If in any doubt clarify your intentions with the local Council before committing to the repairs or maintenance.

Heritage property valuations

Heritage Victoria (Heritage Listing & Property Valuations In Victoria March 2001) recently reviewed a number of studies that investigated the effect of heritage listings upon property values and development potential.

The studies ranged from those which indicated a positive impact upon property values following heritage listing to those that indicated a negative impact.

In summary it found that research studies both domestic and international indicate that heritage listing on a macro level is not a significant factor in determining property value either at the time of listing or following.

However there are individual cases where the effects are more significant either positive or negative. It is often difficult to estimate the specific effects of heritage listing on the value of a property since heritage controls do not prohibit development subdivision or demolition but require that approval to be obtained. Where there is some capacity to develop the particular place and achieve additional development on the land without seriously compromising the heritage significance of the place the impact on values may not be as great as where the capacity for further development is more limited.

Heritage overlay building insurance

As long as heritage buildings are structurally sound water tight secure and well maintained there should be no difficulty with insuring heritage properties. 

For minor repairs the heritage and insurance requirement to reinstate back to a pre-damage state is the same.  For properties that are severely damaged such as gutted by fire and the insurer is of the view to write them off as destroyed there will be no heritage requirement to rebuild them as they werebut owners would not be discouraged from so doing.

Premiums should not be any higher than for an unlisted property. It is recommended however that property owners confirm this matter with their individual insurer.

Heritage study assessments of places

The City has recently completed About Corayo: A Thematic History of Greater Geelong prepared by Dr David Rowe (2021)  This provides a very detailed history of the municipality broken down into a dozen major themes and is available on our website.

To date a number of comprehensive heritage studies that assess individual places have been undertaken within the Geelong region most of which are now available on our website. These studies include:

• Geelong Region Historic Buildings and Objects Study Volumes 1-3 prepared by Allan Willingham for the Geelong Regional Commission (1986)
• Geelong City Urban Conservation Study Volume 1 prepared by Graeme Butler for the City of Geelong (1993)
• Geelong City Urban Conservation Study Volumes 2-5 prepared by Graeme Butler for the City of Geelong (1991)
• Geelong City Urban Conservation Study Volume 4(a) prepared by Helen Lardner for the City of Greater Geelong (1995)
• Geelong City C citations Volume prepared by Dr David Rowe - Authentic Heritage Services (2002)
• City of Geelong West Urban Conservation Study Volumes 1-2 prepared by Huddle Aitken and Honman for the City of Geelong West (1986)
• City of Newtown Urban Conservation Study Volumes 1-4 prepared by Context Pty Ltd for the City of Newtown (1991)
• City of Newtown Urban Conservation Study Volumes 5(a) and 5(b) prepared by Richard Peterson for the City of Greater Geelong (1997)
• Bellarine Heritage Study Volumes 1-3 prepared by Huddle Howe Lewis and Francis for the City of Greater Geelong (1996)
• Greater Geelong Outer Areas Heritage Study Volumes 1-16 prepared by Authentic Heritage Services (2000).

All these studies where prepared by qualified heritage practitioners using the adopted heritage criteria at the time.

The Greater Geelong Outer Areas Heritage Study 2000 has used the principles of the Australia ICOMOS Charter for the Conservation of Places of Cultural Significance (the Burra Charter) and its Guidelines as the basis to all of the assessments in this study. 

In addition the criteria for the Assessment of Cultural Significance of the Register of the National Estate was used to develop a code with the results found on the front page of each citation sheet under the column Heritage Study Degrees of Significance. Further details of this code can be found in Volume 1 Section 4 of the Study Report.

All places that are proposed for planning protection including places identified in a heritage study are required to be documented in a manner that clearly substantiates their scientific aesthetic architectural or historical interest or other special cultural or natural values.

A citation sheet has been prepared for each place should include a statement of significance that clearly establishes the importance of the place.