OPINION: Ballarat councillor calls for heritage to be safeguarded

However, behind the facades of the goldrush built form and culturally significant landscapes, lies a pressing issue - the gaps in heritage protection of our municipality.

I hope to shine a spotlight on the heritage challenges we've witnessed over recent days, and the reasons many in our community are passionately vocalising their fear of losing more.

We need to rally together, right now, to safeguard our invaluable heritage. Collaboratively, we should seek potential solutions, safeguarding Ballarat's historical treasures for generations to come.

The value of Ballarat's history has also been celebrated through David Atkins Spectacular Sturt Street light show, White Night.

Thousands of people came to view our CBD goldrush buildings, cast with artistic projections reflecting significant history, over three consecutive years.

The current World Heritage Serial Listing of the 13 goldrush municipalities aims to underline the exceptional value of our heritage.

From the iconic Sovereign Hill Museum to the grand Victorian-era buildings scattered across our rich mélange of landscape, Ballarat holds a remarkable heritage that showcases Australia's past, contributing to tourism, economy, and tangible links to struggles, triumphs, and evolving identity.

Dramatic changes are visible across Ballarat, resulting from decade-long population growth. Despite Ballarat's current heritage gaps review, our regional city is struggling to effectively protect our historical properties.

I presented the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) approach in Bad Ischl, Austria in 2016 to the World League of Historic Cities. This is successfully used across the globe, but these guidelines and our current policy is proving inadequate in safeguarding our city's assets from demolition.

This in turn allows property owners to make short-term decisions that prioritise profit over heritage preservation, and little for our children's heritage vista.

The owners of the three-storey Union Bank building, sitting proudly at the bottom of our Sturt Street grand boulevard, presented to council last week. Their account reflected five years of legal battles, and significant costs they navigated to save their staircase.

They highlighted building codes of the past with a 'little more than 1 cm' variance from the change from empirical measurements, that led to the directive to demolish. Thank heavens they dug their heels in to achieve retention of the glorious banisters.

The resulting outcome, much more palatable, two yellow plastic signs at top and bottom of the staircase.

Moreover, there seems to be a lack of public awareness and appreciation and comprehension of Ballarat's need for heritage protection, which in turn leads to limited resources, funding, and attention directed towards heritage property protection.

Even so, we know the World Heritage serial listing of the goldfields is estimated to return a whopping $62 million after the first year of delivery.

Sadly, it's not hard to paint the picture of heritage loss we have already experienced.

Significant historical demolitions over previous decades, include corners like Sturt and Lydiard, Norwich Plaza, and the verandas that once framed Sturt Street.

The charming Victorian facades beside the Town Hall were bricked in the '70s due to fire, illustrating loss of architectural integrity and historical context. Similarly, the shuddering mess surrounding Lydiard Street railway, ditches our beloved railway gates, for booms.

On Tuesday, I woke to the news of Sovereign Hill's cottage demolition. I love Sovereign Hill, but I did grow up with a mum who loved purchasing condemned homes and bringing them back to life. I understand the community's wish for a different way.

Last year's approved demolition of Victory house brought many heritage supporters out of the woodwork. Thank-heavens we were able to overturn that decision and protect Chinese Goldrush history.

On the weekend, I was called out to Addington's bluestone homestead; 'Edmonstons' grand home is currently proposed for demolition. We don't have the right systems in place to discuss these properties sitting on our rich soil. This Addington property is not in the CBD, but it is still deserving a councillor conversation.

Irreversible damages caused by planning policy gaps will deprive future generations of their tangible link to the past.

OTHER OPINIONS: Building more homes is not a simple solution

With a housing crisis on the tip of many tongues, and empty upper-level apartments in our CBD, solutions are on our doorstep.

With a heritage-valued mindset, the Union Bank staircase might not have been so close to demolition and accessible solutions responding to fire regulations could unlock upstairs activation.

And there's examples like the three shops in the heritage overlay beside the hospital. They're proposed to be demolished as part of state government's new hospital car parking entrance.

If considered in early planning stages, heritage protection could have been realised. With creative and adaptive re-use, economic activation of our heritage properties can deliver long-term success.

The likes of Mitchell Harris, Hop Temple, and more recently Hotel Vera in Sturt Street are great examples of 'how we can' achieve this.

By strengthening guidelines like the HUL, 'Making Ballarat Central' and communications, we can align contemporary heritage conservation practices, stringent guidelines for property modifications and community excitement.

Another successful Heritage Weekend elevated public awareness, education, guided tours, and community events. It also highlighted significant heritage sites and stories, while strengthening community pride through National Trust's heritage awards.

These awards saw Ballarat Cemetery, Chinese Library, Brown family Grocer building, the Old Colonists Club and the Synagogue all honoured for preservation works.

There is value in our heritage, so let's talk it up. We can reconstruct buildings of the past, like the Gothic Fernery, we can complement old with new, as evidenced in Mair street (beside the old Cuthberts building) and through removal, restore the Gatekeepers' cottage.

We can't wait the five years for the gaps review completion. We need to act now, with a spotlight on heritage. We can do this parallel to new housing developments and job creation.

By strengthening legislation, fostering community involvement, and elevating public awareness, we can ignite a collective sense of responsibility to be the gatekeepers of our invaluable assets.

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