The City of Melbourne values its urban heritage and currently has planning controls in place to protect individual buildings and precincts of heritage significance. The controls are detailed in the Melbourne Planning Scheme, or you can view the existing Heritage Overlap map. For more information please see Heritage and the planning scheme.
In order to further develop our current approach to heritage, the City of Melbourne is currently undertaking a number of heritage studies:
The Central City Heritage Review
In 2010-11, the City of Melbourne assessed 99 heritage graded buildings in the Central City (Hoddle Grid) area. The study reviewed the heritage significance of these buildings to determine whether they warranted heritage protection in the Melbourne Planning Scheme.
The study has been completed and 99 places, including 12 select interiors have been recommended for inclusion in the Melbourne Planning Scheme Heritage Overlay.
Melbourne Planning Scheme Amendment C186 was exhibited from 1 September 2011 to 14 October 2011. Responses were considered by the Future Melbourne Committee on 6 December 2011 and Council resolved to request the Minister for Planning to appoint an independent panel to review all submissions. This is expected to take place in 2012.
For more information, visit Melbourne Planning Scheme Amendment C186.
A history of the built environment and draft Melbourne Heritage Strategy
In the second half of 2011, Council’s Future Melbourne Committee will be asked to consider two important heritage documents - a history of the City of Melbourne's built environment and the draft Melbourne Heritage Strategy.
The history will identify key themes that have influenced the historic development of the municipality and will help to explain how and why the built and human-influenced environments of the municipality look as they do today. This thematic history will help ensure that places significant in the historical development of the municipality are recognised in future planning activities.
The draft Melbourne Heritage Strategy will be the result of a review and analysis of the City of Melbourne’s heritage work and responsibilities. The draft strategy will outline current challenges and opportunities, establish a vision, principles and goals and recommend a range of actions that the City of Melbourne can undertake to manage heritage.
It is expected that after review by the Future Melbourne Committee, the draft strategy will go out for public consultation.