The National Trust congratulates the City of Glen Eira for progressing a much needed review of the municipality’s existing heritage overlay areas, heritage grading system and heritage planning policy. We acknowledge and support the purpose of this review to ‘update and refresh existing heritage policies and provide more detailed objectives, policies and performance measures that will benefit home owners, developers and planning staff’. As stated in the proposed Clause 21.10 Heritage: 

Glen Eira is currently experiencing a development boom, which means the pressure to demolish older buildings will increase. There is also pressure to adapt and develop heritage places to suit contemporary lifestyles. There is increasing concern that the City’s heritage is under serious threat. There is a need for clear design guidelines for new development both within and adjacent to heritage precincts

While the National Trust is supportive of the proposed changes, we do have some concerns regarding the updated heritage policy (Clause 21.01 Heritage Policy) relating specifically to demolition, facadism, significant vegetation and subdivision.

To read our submission in full, please click here.

To read the ‘Review of Existing Heritage Areas’ prepared as part of the amendment, click here.

Scope of Heritage Precincts Area

As part of this review, it has been identified that a broader review of the entire municipality ‘aiming to capture significant buildings not currently included in the Heritage Overlay’ is to be undertaken in the next 2-3 years. The National Trust strongly supports this objective, and calls for this review to be undertaken as soon as possible to ensure the preservation and retention of significant heritage places not yet protected under the Heritage Overlay, so that significant places do not “fall through the cracks”. We therefore encourage Council to identify other significant places at risk and seek interim protection to allow time for further studies to be undertaken.

The current threat to “Lind House”, a remarkably intact example of modernist architect Anatol Kagan’s work located at 450 Dandenong Road Caulfield North, highlights an urgent need to undertake a municipal-wide assessment of postwar heritage. We wrote to Glen Eira Mayor Cr Mary Delahunty in July expressing our concerns regarding the proposed demolition of ‘Lind House’ to accommodate a townhouse development (to read this letter in full, click here), and support Council’s response to the proposed demolition, including the refusal of the planning permit, a request to the Minister for Planning for interim heritage protection, and a nomination to the Victorian Heritage Register. We encourage Council to identify other significant places at risk which may warrant interim protection while the strategic review is being undertaken, and will be working with the National Trust’s Built Environment Expert Committee to identify other significant examples of postwar architecture in the municipality.

Media

• ‘Council moves to save mid-century modernist house from demolition’, ArchitectureAU, 7 July 2017: http://architectureau.com/articles/council-moves-to-save-mid-century-modernist-house-from-demolition/ 
•  ‘Modernist Caulfield North house faces wrecking ball as council calls for urgent interim protection,’ Domain, 5 July 2017: https://www.domain.com.au/news/modernist-caulfield-north-house-faces-wrecking-ball-as-council-calls-for-urgent-interim-protection-20170705-gx54eb/
• ‘Lind House is this how it ends?’ Modernist Australia, 4 July 2017: http://modernistaustralia.com/2017/07/lind-house-is-this-how-it-ends/

Featured Image: ‘Lind House’, 450 Dandenong Road Caulfield North, Modernist Australia