Post-war heritage probe under way

DEVELOPMENT after the Second World War will be the focus of a new City of Greater Bendigo heritage study.

City officers have issued a call for community involvement in the project.

Known as a Post-War Thematic Environmental History, the study will consider post-war development that includes commercial buildings and precincts, industrial structures, residential developments, and a range of public buildings and gardens.

It is aimed at protecting more mid-century heritage places throughout the municipality.

“Several post-war sites have come under threat in recent years due to a combination of development pressures and a lack of background and heritage information about the places,” strategic planning manager Anthony Petherbridge said.

“The Heritage Overlay has already been applied on some individual post-war places, including 31 Bayne Street in North Bendigo.

“Another example is the Alistair Knox-designed mud-brick house in Strathdale from the 1970s, Nanga Gnulle, which had a heritage overlay applied after a concerted public campaign.

“The new study will complement the Greater Bendigo Thematic Environmental History from 2013, which provided a detailed overview of the history of Greater Bendigo but was largely silent on post-war heritage.

“This proposed background study will help us to understand how and why Greater Bendigo has developed since 1945, and how that fits within Victoria’s heritage themes.”

The study also aims to produce a list of recommendations for places identified as potentially significant for further investigation.

It does not aim to provide a detailed analysis of individual properties or places, and will not propose any new planning controls or extension of the Heritage Overlay. But it could lead to more detailed post-war heritage assessments being carried out.

The community is being asked to offer feedback through the city’s Let’s Talk portal by identifying places on a map considered to be of value or significant examples of the post-war era.

A public workshop is also scheduled for 1pm to 3pm at the Bendigo Regional Tennis Centre on Tuesday, May 21.

The Let’s Talk platform will be open for contributions until Monday, May 27.

Once the submitted data is analysed, the community will be told of the outcome and of the next steps in developing the study.