LALOR Heritage Overlay - Why and How not to?

[Melbournee]

Got a property in Lalor, VIC.

The Whittlesea council are trying to push heritage overlays. They have been real pushy/sneaky about the whole deal – I have been real curious as to why?

THe houses are only 50 years old – to put it crudely they are ugly boxes (mostly in 300 -350K). Some were built as holiday homes etc so not Heritage worthy! But the council have spent lots $$$ and a lot of time into this whole deal. Obviously a lot of people are opposing (value of houses falling and added pains- permits etc) but the local counsellers are trying to get it through. There are no units in this area and there is an existing covenant that means no subdivision can happen anyways.

Why do the councils want heritage overlays so badly -I can guess that they will make money from granting permits etc (once these heritage overlays come into effect) – what else do they gain from these restrictions?

Secondly how can we stop it all dead in its tracks

 

[Shaneelastic]

I think the council went too far allowing 4 units on a 650 sqm site
There ate some streets which should have a heritage overlay imo.

 

[Aaron_C]

Why do the councils want heritage overlays so badly -I can guess that they will make money from granting permits etc (once these heritage overlays come into effect) – what else do they gain from these restrictions?

Because Governments love to tell you what you can/can't do with your own property. Houses 50 years old don't really have any heritage value whatsoever - most of them are built of cheap materials that don't last in terms of style or substance.

 

[Melbournee]

I think the council went too far allowing 4 units on a 650 sqm site
There ate some streets which should have a heritage overlay imo.

99% of the houses which will come under the heritage overlay ALREADY have a covenant enforcing single dwelling per block - which means only 1 house anyways.

The ones with units will not be affected either way.

And the overlay itself is funnily applied.

some odd numbers in some streets, some even numbers in other streets - !

 

[Selinarra]

Hi Melbournee,

I'll start of by saying that I am in no way in favour of the proposed heritage overlays.

The reason for the push by the Council is not in relation to the houses themselves. As you say, they are only 50 years old. The Peter Lalor Estate itself is of significance because of historic and cultural reasons. It was built after World War II for ex-serviceman.

The covenant that you are referring to in relation to single dwellings does not apply to every single block in the estate. From memory, it only applies to around half. In fact there are quite a few unit sites within the estate itself.

The proposed heritage overlays will affect around 100 dwellings. The overlay does not apply only to odd or even numbers. The top half of Middleton St is within the heritage area, the bottom half is not. Some streets only have half of the street included, but not the other half.

As a valuer working within that municipality, I would suggest that the values may drop if the changes are made. How much by? Probably not too much because it is still a good location in terms of proximity to Station St shops and Lalor train station.

I would suggest that you keep making your voice heard to the Council, and encourage others to also do so. The amendment report has not be heard in a Council meeting as of yet so there is still the opportunity to oppose it. Even if Council wishes to proceed, it will still need to be presented to the Planning Minister for approval

 

[Melbournee]

Thanks Selinarra. Appreciate your response.

Thought I will do an update.....

There was a meeting with the councillors today. Final voting is next week.

Only 3 of the 11 councillors turned up. People were visibly upset over the whole deal.

120+ out of 135 affected have appealed against it. The rest, I am sure, are unaware of what really is happening. The only support is from 5 or 6 people who DONT have a property in the affected area!

Despite written requests the council is not saying how much money they have spent over this whole ordeal. They did acknowledge the fact that they did pay the lady who did her thesis on the area and wrote a book over it. The book is what gave the basis for the whole overlay business. The planning in the backgrounds has been going over for a few years. They have tried even before to introduce it but never made it public knowledge. Apparantly the planning minister knocked it back last time- thats from one of the councillors.

I have tried emailing all of the 11 councillors but couple of their email addresses arent working straight off. The whittlesea mail servers just bounce your mail back. Only 1 reply (2 lines) from one of the councillors so far.Tried and left a couple of messages- no call back. Not sure how to be heard more!

 

[Melbournee]

do heritage overlays provide councils with any federal or state funds ....or just a made up fact

Few people in the area think they are starting with a small pocket to put this overlay restriction on and then move on to more and more houses.

 

[Tigerboy]

Thanks Selinarra. Appreciate your response.

Thought I will do an update.....

There was a meeting with the councillors today. Final voting is next week.

Only 3 of the 11 councillors turned up. People were visibly upset over the whole deal.

120+ out of 135 affected have appealed against it. The rest, I am sure, are unaware of what really is happening. The only support is from 5 or 6 people who DONT have a property in the affected area!

Despite written requests the council is not saying how much money they have spent over this whole ordeal. They did acknowledge the fact that they did pay the lady who did her thesis on the area and wrote a book over it. The book is what gave the basis for the whole overlay business. The planning in the backgrounds has been going over for a few years. They have tried even before to introduce it but never made it public knowledge. Apparantly the planning minister knocked it back last time- thats from one of the councillors.

I have tried emailing all of the 11 councillors but couple of their email addresses arent working straight off. The whittlesea mail servers just bounce your mail back. Only 1 reply (2 lines) from one of the councillors so far.Tried and left a couple of messages- no call back. Not sure how to be heard more!

Melbournee I have developed around the area and was aware of a very strong lobby group there. There is a group of about 30 who make it difficult - they gather signatures, lodge objections and constantly complain to council. I agree with you, a fifty year history shouldn't have heritage value.

If you're in the area and don't have a single dwelling covenant then I'd be considering apply for development now or selling.

Friends in Coburg had a heritage overlay applied to their home, and now they can't develop.

 

[Dazz]

Secondly how can we stop it all dead in its tracks

Local Councillors listen to the State Parliamentarian covering the area.

The State Parliamentarian listens to the Federal Parliamentarian covering the area.

I suggest writing a detailed letter to your Federal Parliamentarian stating your problem....that'd be Julia Gillard....and asking what she intends doing about it as your local member.

Good luck with that.

 

[Fifth]

Local Councillors listen to the State Parliamentarian covering the area.

The State Parliamentarian listens to the Federal Parliamentarian covering the area.

I suggest writing a detailed letter to your Federal Parliamentarian stating your problem....that'd be Julia Gillard....and asking what she intends doing about it as your local member.

Good luck with that.

I believe s/he means Lalor the suburb, not Lalor the federal seat.

 

[Peter Parker]

Local Councillors listen to the State Parliamentarian covering the area.

The State Parliamentarian listens to the Federal Parliamentarian covering the area.

I suggest writing a detailed letter to your Federal Parliamentarian stating your problem....that'd be Julia Gillard....and asking what she intends doing about it as your local member.

On a point of order, Lalor is a northern suburb of Melbourne, about 20km north of the city.

The federal electorate of Lalor (represented by Julia Gillard) is 30km west of Melbourne.

Lalor (the suburb) is not in Lalor (the electorate).

And it's even pronounced differently!

Their similarity is that the people in both will vote for even a drovers dog if endorsed by Labor.

 

[Dazz]

Apologies to all. You are totally right and I am completely wrong.

I'll never make that mistake again, of not checking whether a suburb of the same name is in the federal electorate.

Thank you for correcting me fifth and Spiderman.

The OP needs to write a letter to Harry Jenkins.