GAWLER’S character could be “irreplaceably compromised” under proposed new State Government planning reforms that would water-down the protection policy currently in place for more than 600 contributory heritage items in the township.
The government’s recently-released Community Guide to Heritage and Character document, which will form part of South Australia’s new Planning and Design Code to be fully implemented from July 2020, provides specific protection to state and local heritage items.
However, contributory items would instead be preserved under a broader ‘Heritage or Conservation Overlay’, with council concerned that less stringent checks could see some protected structures slip through the cracks.
Contributory items, of which Gawler has 609 within its council boundaries, are described by the government as “examples of particular forms of development, representing a defined period and its built-form character”, however are not defined by the Development Act.
Because of this, no new contributory items have been added to development plans since 2012.
The current Gawler (CT) Development Plan offers protection to contributory items, however it will be replaced by the government’s Planning and Design Code next year.
Gawler Council’s strategic policy officer, Jane Strange, in a report presented to elected
members last Tuesday, stated prior to the release of the Heritage and Character document there had been no indication that “the protection currently afforded contributory items would be removed”.
She advised council would need to engage heritage consultants to evaluate the status of Gawler’s existing contributory items to determine whether they could be reclassified as local heritage items, but estimated the cost of doing so could reach $400,000. “Councils formulated their budgets in January of this year and the added burden now imposed on those affected bodies is a concerning and crippling impost upon local government and ratepayers,” Ms Strange stated.
“Although not all council’s contributory items are worthy of conversion to local heritage places, a preliminary review by the Town of Gawler’s heritage advisor indicates that 85 per cent of ours may be eligible for upgrade.”