At its May ordinary meeting of council last week, councillors voted to apply to the Planning Minister for authorisation to permanently protect the Old Hepburn Hotel, located at 236 Main Road.

The single-storey weatherboard hotel - one of the longest running pubs in the region - was established in the early 1850s, during a period when Swiss Italian and German gold miners descended on the area in the hope to find gold.

The original building burnt down in bushfires in the early 1900s, but was rebuilt on the original foundation a few years afterwards.

The hotel is a much-loved venue within the shire, which in recent years has played host to well-known live music acts.

In 2018, council issued development approval for a seven-lot subdivision for the site, which proposed the construction of six accommodation units as well as the use of part of the hotel as a meeting space.

The Old Hepburn Hotel was sold in October 2018, with the pub closing its doors to customers in March 2019.

However, after that, the council received a planning application for a twelve-lot subdivision, which included the demolition of the hotel.

The proposal to demolish the hotel was not accepted by council, though there is currently no heritage overlay to protect the building.

Council officers met with the new owners' consultants on October 7, 2019, to inform them the plans were not supported by council and that the heritage significance of the hotel needed to be determined.

Subsequently, a heritage adviser was employed to determine if the building warranted heritage protection under the Heritage Overlay section of the Hepburn Planning Scheme.

In early December 2019, council received a further request from the owners, under Section 29A of the Building Act 1993, asking for consent for the demolition of the building.

Council refused the request, with works still under way to determine its historical and cultural significance.

The building's significance was confirmed by the heritage adviser in early 2020.

According to the heritage adviser, its significance means there is also potential to discover further information about the history of Swiss Italian and German migration to the area, as historic artefacts dating back to the 1850s could well be buried on the land.

After discovering there was a strong case to protect the building from demolition, in February the council wrote to the Planning Minister, Richard Wynne, seeking interim protection for the hotel until the council's planning scheme was amended to allow for permanent heritage controls.

The council is currently working with the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) to prepare documents for this interim protection, however, council hopes Amendment C79hepb can be added to its Hepburn Planning Scheme to provide a period of twelve months' protection until the permanent heritage controls are considered through Amendment C82hepb.

The heritage protection would be considered by an independent panel.

Alison Blacket, council's senior planning consultant, said the council had given the owner adequate time to consider alternate development proposals and to devise a mutually acceptable solution before the letter was written in February.

While the outcome of the independent panel may be that the building is not culturally significant, Ms Blacket said the council's moves to seek the protection of the building was to ensure the shire does not lose one of its most significant and oldest pubs without adequate checks.

"We want to provide a fair level of caution before a building surveyor issues a demolition permit," she said.

The council officers' recommendation was supported by all councillors.

In moving the motion, Cr Kate Redwood said the building was not only important for its link to the gold rush but that it had continued to be important for the community until the present day.

"It is of very special cultural significance to the local community and is a place which continued to be a much loved centre for gathering until the recent past," Cr Redwood said.

"The fabric of the building leaves a certain amount to be desired but let's hope that in considering its cultural and heritage significance that ways can be found to protect the fabric of the building in ways which will see it continue to have that heritage protection into the future."

Council has been working on two heritage policy initiatives in recent months.

Since late last year, council has been conducting the Hepburn Planning Scheme Review and drafting policies to protect those of historical significance. The heritage policy is currently sitting with DELWP for review.

Meanwhile, the Heritage Strategy was also reviewed in late 2019 in order to review gaps in the current strategy. Its adoption will be considered at the June council meeting.

The Courier attempted to contact the owners for comment.