Whitehorse Council rethinks policy after young couple’s dream home becomes a heritage headache

The story:

A young couple’s dream to make their forever home in Blackburn North was almost dashed by a last-minute decision to heritage list the house they had only just purchased.

In September, the couple paid $1.335 million for 2 Peter Avenue, Blackburn North, with the intention to demolish it and rebuild. Shortly after the sale, they received a notice that the local council were considering placing heritage protections on the property meaning they wouldn’t be able to demolish it.

Because the house was only put on the Whitehorse Council’s low-priority Potential Heritage List, the buyers were not able to see the nightmare situation they could have found themselves in — a home in dire need of a complete overhaul but not being able to do any works or knock it down.

Whitehorse Elgar Ward councillor Blair Barker moved a motion on Monday, December 16, asking council officers to report on how it could remove low-priority properties from the Potential Heritage List, essentially preventing similar cases from arising in the future and handing property rights back to future homeowners.

Whitehorse Council’s view:

Barker said he was not trying to do away with the heritage protections altogether, but did think many low-priority properties could probably be removed.

“People buy those homes understanding the heritage protection that goes with them, and they're an important protection for the history of the pattern of development of our great city,” he said.

“This is about reinforcing confidence in the heritage framework, and this is about, most importantly, protecting private property rights.”

Eley Ward councillor Daniel Griffiths seconded the motion, describing the current state of the policy as “poor”.

”The policy that's currently in place has the opportunity to ruin people's lives,” he said.

“Most people would not know that this even exists to go and look for it.”

The impact on locals:

Barker recalled the local couple who were left shocked after purchasing the $1.35 million property in Blackburn North with the intention to rebuild. Shortly after the couple finalised the deal they discovered Whitehorse Council’s Heritage Consultant had identified the property as being of heritage significance and worthy of protection.

“I'll never forget the sight of that young couple sitting in the front row of the chamber where their distress was palpable,” Barker said.

“Their $1.4 million property would have become worth $600,000 in the drop of a hammer.”

Councillors decided to abandon any further consideration of heritage controls in relation to the Blackburn North property.

The facts:

Whitehorse Council adopted its Draft Heritage Framework on September 21, 2020.

This updated framework aimed to help the council identify and protect historic buildings, places and objects.

The framework initially categorised 144 properties as “Priority C” — the lowest of the three priority ranks — including 2 Peter Avenue, Blackburn South.

This month’s Whitehorse decision aiming to remove the Priority C classification follows on from a similar decision in Maribyrnong and concerns raised by a number of residents across parts of inner Melbourne.

The council will reconvene in February to reflect o the possibility of removing Priority C properties from the framework.