Planning Scheme Amendment C085– West Moorabool Heritage Study

The West Moorabool Heritage Study was prepared to identify and assess places of heritage significance in the western part of the Shire.  

It was undertaken in three parts: 

• Stage 1: Prepared a thematic environmental history and identified a list of 702 potential places of heritage significance for further assessment. 

• Stage 2: A detailed assessment of 106 places and 7 precincts in priority areas identified in Stage 1. 

• Stage 2A Review: A review of the Stage 2A study to ensure it is up to date with current practices and can support a Planning Scheme Amendment. 

Council adopted the West Moorabool Heritage Study Stage 2A Review (May 2021, Plan Heritage) at the 6 December 2023 Ordinary Meeting of Council and resolved to seek Ministerial authorisation to prepare and exhibit amendment C085moor.  

Amendment C085moor proposes to implement the findings of the West Moorabool Heritage Study 2A Review by introducing planning controls in the form of the Heritage Overlay into the Moorabool Planning Scheme. 

Specifically, the amendment proposes to:  

• Apply the Heritage Overlay to 106 individual places and 7 heritage precincts across Ballan, Blackwood, Bungaree, Gordon, Lal Lal, Millbrook, Mount Egerton and Wallace. 

• Remove the Heritage Overlay from 3 individual heritage places that are to be included in new precincts. 

• Amend the Schedule to Clause 43.01 (Heritage Overlay) to apply permanent controls to the identified places and insert planning permit application requirements. 

• Amend the Schedule to Clause 72.04 (Incorporated Documents) to include 113 Statements of Significance and the Moorabool Shire Heritage Precincts and Places Incorporated Plan Permit Exemptions (Plan Heritage, May 2021). 

• Amend the Schedule to Clause 72.08 (Background Documents) to insert the West Moorabool Heritage Study Stage 2A Review (Plan Heritage, May 2021). 

Heritage places are vital to our understanding and appreciation of the rich culture and history of Moorabool Shire. We want to ensure that recognised heritage places within Moorabool are protected into the future. 

Heritage in Moorabool Shire is important as it: 

• sits at the heart of community identity, contributing to a ‘sense of place’. 

• provides continuity within our ever-changing built and natural environment. 

• provides tangible reminders of our connection to the past. 

• contributes to tourism, economic prosperity and environmental sustainability. 

The most effective way that we can protect local heritage is through the application of the Heritage Overlay in the Moorabool Planning Scheme. This aligns with Council’s responsibility under the Planning and Environment Act 1987 to identify and protect places of heritage significance through the Moorabool Planning Scheme. 

The Heritage Overlay is a planning control within the Moorabool Planning Scheme that provides protection to places and precincts with heritage significance. It applies development controls and permit triggers for certain works, such as construction of an addition or external alterations.  

The purpose of the Heritage Overlay is to protect places of aesthetic, historical, technical or social significance. The inclusion of places, as either individually significant properties or heritage precincts, within the Heritage Overlay helps to make sure that new development does not have a negative impact on the significance of heritage places.  

The places and precincts within a Heritage Overlay are listed in the Schedule to the Heritage Overlay contained at Clause 43.01 of the Moorabool Planning Scheme.  

A Heritage Citation is prepared for each place or precinct included in the Amendment and includes: a physical description; history; comparison with similar heritage places; and a Statement of Significance. The Heritage Citation provides more information about how and why a place is of heritage significance. The Heritage Citations are included as an appendix in the West Moorabool Heritage Study Stage 2A Review, which is proposed to be a background document to the Moorabool Planning Scheme.  

The Statement of Significance draws information from the Heritage Citation about what is significant, how it is significant, and why it is significant. It is included as an individual incorporated document to the Moorabool Planning Scheme and provides useful context that informs decisions made under the Heritage Overlay. 

Not all works require a planning permit under the Heritage Overlay. Call Council to check if you require a planning permit or not. 

Clause 43.01 – Heritage Overlay of the Planning Scheme outlines whether a permit is required for certain works. In some cases the permit process will be fast tracked under the VicSmart permit requirements set out in Clause 43.01-1. VicSmart applications are a quicker permit application process and have a 10 business day processing time. 

Some works considered to be minor in nature will be exempt from planning permit requirements of the Heritage Overlay. Moorabool Shire Heritage Precinct and Places Incorporated Plan Permit Exemptions (May 2021) defines works that do not require planning approval and is included in Amendment C085moor. Different exemptions apply depending on what a building is graded and whether it is a residential, rural or commercial heritage place.  Council’s heritage advisory service can provide advice on how the exemptions apply to your individual property. 

It is important to note that the Moorabool Shire Heritage Precinct and Places Incorporated Plan Permit Exemptions does not exempt permit requirements under other parts of the Planning Scheme or the need for a building permit. 

No. The Heritage Overlay cannot require an owner to restore their property to a pre-existing state or force an owner to maintain their property to a higher standard than similar properties not within an overlay.  

Council offers a free heritage advisory service that can be accessed by anyone in the community, including owners or prospective purchasers of a property within an existing or proposed Heritage Overlay. 

The service provides specialist heritage advice to give you more information about the heritage features of a property and how to best repair, maintain it and make alterations to it to preserve its value and integrity. 

Once exhibition finishes, all submissions will be reviewed and where possible we will seek to resolve issues raised in submissions.  

Following exhibition of the amendment, Council has three options under the Planning and Environment Act 1987 to either: 

1. adopt the amendment (where all submissions are resolved) 

2. abandon the amendment 

3. refer the amendment and submissions to an independent planning panel.  

Officers will notify all submitters of any Council meetings relating to the amendment. More information about the amendment process is available here.   

A heritage place can include buildings, structures, trees, areas (called precincts), moveable objects, memorials or other sites that hold significant cultural, historic, aesthetic, or social value for past, present, and future generations. 

A heritage citation outlines the history, description, condition, and integrity of a heritage place or precinct. It also includes a Statement of Significance, which explains the importance of that place and why it is significant. The citation is used by Council when assessing alterations to a heritage place. A heritage citation has been developed for each individually significant place and heritage precinct in the amendment. 

A heritage precinct is a collection of sites that make up a heritage place and demonstrate specific heritage values. An area may include neighbourhoods, streets or sections of streets within a heritage precinct. 

There are three levels of significance for heritage places within a precinct known as the property grading. In order of importance they are, Significant, Contributory or Non-contributory. Each property within a precinct has a grading. The heritage citation for each precinct identifies the grading of a property under the heading ‘what is significant?’. The gradings are defined below. 

• A Significant place would warrant inclusion in the Heritage Overlay as an individual place if it were not within a precinct. In a heritage precinct a significant heritage place makes an important contribution to the precinct. 

• A Contributory place contributes to the significance of a heritage precinct but would not be significant on its own. 

• A Non-contributory place does not contribute to the significance of the precinct. Non-contributory properties are included in the Heritage Overlay because any new development may impact on the heritage significance of the precinct as a whole. 

An individually significant place can be a single place, such as a dwelling, or group of features making up a place, such as a church complex or farm complex that has heritage significance but is not located within a heritage precinct. These places usually have a high degree of integrity and are easily identifiable as their ‘type’ of place