Protecting more of Port's heritage

Monday's Council meeting, to be held in the Port Council chamber from 6pm, is important for Port Melbourne. Over the past few months, Council has been reviewing Heritage Overlay 1 - the heritage overlay that covers a large part of Port Melbourne. It is now proposed that the review be implemented by means of a planning scheme amendment. All affected property owners have been notified of the review and 29 submissions have been received. The review recommends extending the heritage overlay to a further 244 properties and the Turner Reserve, and introducing two new individual heritage overlays for the Port Melbourne Football/Cricket Ground and Edwards Park. It also recommends applying tree controls to the Port Melbourne Light Rail Reserve. A heritage overlay does not mean that properties cannot be altered. It means that a planning permit is required to make changes to properties covered by the overlay, and significant tests are applied to the demolition of dwellings. The full council report, review documents and maps are available from here. If you would like to view a hard copy of any of these documents or to ask any questions about all this, please contact me or attend the Council meeting where your questions are welcome.