Shire strengthens heritage protections

THE Surf Coast Shire will amend its Planning Scheme to include stronger protections for places identified within Heritage Overlays.

Council voted last week to approve the changes after a study identified that 14 places of significance in the shire had scant or no heritage assessment to support their significance, despite already being subject to Heritage Overlays.

The 2020 study conducted by Ecology and Heritage Partners Pty Ltd on behalf of council also found that the Pollocksford Bridge over the Barwon River on Pollocksford Road met the threshold for local cultural heritage significance and should be included in the Heritage Overlay.

The Surf Coast Shire has full maintenance responsibility for the bridge, but is commonly owned with the Gold Plains Shire as it straddles the municipal boundaries of the two shires.

Further Heritage Overlay controls will be added to Westcott’s Stable in Barrabool and Scammell House in Torquay, which will require a permit for any internal alterations of the properties.

External paint controls will be applied to the Colonial Bank in Winchelsea and Berramongo in Barrabool.

The study further recommended that Torquay’s Scammell House and Winchelsea’s Wormbete Homestead met the threshold for state significance to Victoria and should be nominated for inclusion in the relevant register.

Councillors unanimously passed the amendments that state support for strengthening the existing heritage overlays and establish the significance of the place and provide a basis to guide any future planning permit applications against the decision guidelines of the Heritage Overlay.

Two changes were added by council to the amendments after being exhibited to the public, including a recommendation to include reference to the term Aboriginal living cultural heritage and values, as well post-European contact cultural heritage as a policy guideline.

Council will now submit the amendment to the Victorian Minister for Planning for approval.