To help us better understand important qualities of existing heritage precincts outside the central city area, we’re developing new statements of significance.

These include existing precincts in the suburbs of:

• Carlton
• East Melbourne and Jolimont
• North and West Melbourne
• Parkville
• South Yarra
• Kensington

We are reviewing two heritage planning scheme policies, to protect the city’s heritage. This review is part of the actions outlined in the Heritage Strategy 2013. The two policies (Melbourne Planning Scheme clauses 22.04 and 22.05) are used to make decisions on planning permit applications.

Statements of significance provide insight into the heritage significance of a precinct, including the heritage values and heritage character of the area.

Knowing what is important about a precinct enables informed planning decisions to be made in relation to the management and conservation of a precinct.

These statements of significance provide succinct and concise insights into the precinct, including heritage values and character of the area. They should contain sufficient information about the precinct’s significance so that it is readily understood.

For this project, the statements will be several pages long, but not lengthy documents or reports.

A statement of significance typically contains three parts:

• It starts with 'what is significant?’. This component includes a history and description of the precinct, with the latter including a description of the important heritage characteristics such as the valued historical development and built form characteristics.
• The statement then includes a short statement identifying the heritage values of the precinct - historical, aesthetic/architectural, social, scientific or other heritage values - under 'how is it significant?'.
• It concludes with 'why is it significant?’ which is where the significance is explicitly stated and expanded on, articulating why the precinct is significant for the identified heritage values.

Statements of significance are not detailed documents and they do not normally include detailed information on individual properties. However, it is important that they capture what the community values or appreciates about a precinct. This may be information about particular developments or built form characteristics. These built form elements often include things such as:

• groups of intact pitched laneways
• important collections of local historic public buildings, or
• significant interwar commercial developments. 

We are undertaking this review to improve to the way we make heritage planning decisions.

After the release of our Heritage Strategy (2013), we received community feedback on how we could improve our heritage policies and conservation tools.

Melbourne is also experiencing unprecedented growth, which makes it a good time to review our heritage policies.

Your feedback and submissions about the existing heritage policy were collected and compiled. That feedback is currently being considered as part of this project, and will inform the re-write of clauses 22.04 and 22.05.

In early 2015, information was gathered from the community in the following ways:

• 7 community workshops and heritage walks.
• meetings with residents groups and external stakeholders.
• online engagement through Participate Melbourne

This information has been used to:

• draft a Statement of Significance for each of the existing 6 large heritage precincts outside the central city; and,
• revise the heritage policies that sit within the Melbourne Planning Scheme.

It is important that our policies are updated so we can meet current best practice; be consistent with State Government policies; and bring greater clarity to the decision making process.