PORTARLINGTON resident\u2019s say they are in shock after the City of Greater Geelong received a proposal to demolish a historic building that dates back to the 1850s.<\/p>\n
The city has received a planning application for 1-3 Turner Court, which proposes a three-lot sub-division and three-dwelling development (one exceeding 7.5m in height).<\/p>\n
This proposal will involve destroying the original manager\u2019s house for the historic Portarlington Mill.<\/p>\n
The National Trust of Australia (Victoria) has confirmed that while the Portarlington Mill is protected, the original manager\u2019s house is not classified by the National Trust and does not have a Heritage Overlay under the City of Greater Geelong Planning Scheme.<\/p>\n
The city\u2019s director of planning, design and Development Gareth Smith said the former manager\u2019s residence was \u201cnot owned by the National Trust and does not have any form of heritage control over it\u201d.<\/p>\n
Local resident Elizabeth Turner said that when history was lost, it could never be replaced.<\/p>\n
Ms Turner said the manager\u2019s house was built around the 1850s so the manager was close-by to oversee the production of flour.<\/p>\n
She said at the time the Bellarine Peninsula was known as the \u201cgranary of the colony\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 1962, the Shire of Bellarine purchased the Portarlington Mill to avoid its demolition and gave the building to the National Trust.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe manager\u2019s house was privately owned and on a separate title.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe owner built a contemporary fa\u00e7ade around the original house to avoid it being registered as a historic building.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe manager\u2019s house still exists within the fa\u00e7ade, rich with ornate doors, windows, chimneys and history.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Turner said her great-great grandfather, Captain Edward Marriner, ran a shipping business from Portarlington to Williamstown and carried produce from the Mill.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Victorian government intends to declare the Bellarine Peninsula a Distinctive Area and Landscape,\u201d Mrs Turner said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe already have parts of Portarlington zoned to allow three storey housing and it seems there will be more planning applications for intensive development before the government can enact any changes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Turner said if the application was approved, and the original Mill manager\u2019s house was demolished, she and others would be pushing for any original historical pieces to be donated to the National Trust for display at the Mill.<\/p>\n