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title: Amendment C101gpla - Clontarf Homestead Heritage Overlay HO174 council: golden-plains state: vic category: amendment classification: MINOR status: pending last_compiled: 2026-05-31 source_docs:

  • PUBLIC Agenda - Council Meeting - 20 December 2022.pdf
  • Att 7.3 Informal Meeting of Councillors Record (Briefing - 13 December).pdf
  • Att 7.5 C101gpla Planning Scheme Amendment Documents Adoption.pdf
  • Att 7.3 Amendment CXX- Application of Heritage Overlay to 4 Wallace Street, Meredith.pdf

Amendment C101gpla - Clontarf Homestead Heritage Overlay HO174

Amendment C101gpla is a narrow heritage-control amendment for Meredith rather than a land-supply or infrastructure amendment: it applies the Heritage Overlay as HO174 to the Clontarf Homestead at 4 Wallace Street, Meredith, and inserts the Clontarf statement of significance as an incorporated document in the Golden Plains Planning Scheme (Source: Att 7.5 C101gpla Planning Scheme Amendment Documents Adoption.pdf, p.1; Source: Att 7.5 C101gpla Planning Scheme Amendment Documents Adoption.pdf, p.23). The practical planning effect is to move the significant buildings from demolition-risk status into a permanent statutory control while keeping the mapped overlay boundary focused on the house, stables and buggy shed rather than the whole landholding (Source: PUBLIC Agenda - Council Meeting - 20 December 2022.pdf, p.23; Source: Att 7.5 C101gpla Planning Scheme Amendment Documents Adoption.pdf, p.1).

Background

The amendment was triggered by a demolition pathway rather than a broad heritage review: Golden Plains Shire Council received a request to demolish the house at 4 Wallace Street, Meredith under section 29A of the Building Act 1993 on 28 March 2022 (Source: Att 7.5 C101gpla Planning Scheme Amendment Documents Adoption.pdf, p.1). Council then wrote to the Minister for Planning on 13 April 2022 seeking a ministerial amendment under section 20(4) of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 to apply an interim Heritage Overlay, which would have suspended the demolition-consent process (Source: Att 7.5 C101gpla Planning Scheme Amendment Documents Adoption.pdf, p.1). The section 29A application was later modified to remove demolition of the dwelling, buggy shed and stables, so the interim overlay route was no longer required (Source: Att 7.5 C101gpla Planning Scheme Amendment Documents Adoption.pdf, p.1).

The place had earlier been identified in the Golden Plains Shire Stage One Heritage Study in 2004, but it was not fully assessed in Stage Two because of budget constraints (Source: Att 7.5 C101gpla Planning Scheme Amendment Documents Adoption.pdf, p.1; Source: PUBLIC Agenda - Council Meeting - 20 December 2022.pdf, p.23). A heritage adviser was engaged on 13 April 2022, and the resulting assessment recommended a permanent Heritage Overlay for the Clontarf Homestead, which Council approved on 24 May 2022 (Source: Att 7.5 C101gpla Planning Scheme Amendment Documents Adoption.pdf, p.1). The 24 May 2022 attachment in the corpus contains the heritage assessment and letter request references, but its extracted text is largely page-shell material rather than usable OCR text, so the later December 2022 statutory attachment is the reliable extracted source for the substantive heritage findings (Source: Att 7.3 Amendment CXX- Application of Heritage Overlay to 4 Wallace Street, Meredith.pdf, p.3; Source: Att 7.5 C101gpla Planning Scheme Amendment Documents Adoption.pdf, pp.24-26).

Analysis

Statutory Mechanism

C101gpla uses three linked statutory moves. First, it amends Planning Scheme Map 18HO to apply HO174 to 4 Wallace Street, Meredith (Source: Att 7.5 C101gpla Planning Scheme Amendment Documents Adoption.pdf, p.1). Second, it amends the schedule to Clause 43.01 so Clontarf Homestead appears as HO174 in the Heritage Overlay schedule (Source: Att 7.5 C101gpla Planning Scheme Amendment Documents Adoption.pdf, p.1; Source: Att 7.5 C101gpla Planning Scheme Amendment Documents Adoption.pdf, pp.21-22). Third, it amends Clause 72.04 to incorporate the Clontarf Homestead, 4 Wallace Street, Meredith Statement of Significance prepared by Lorraine Huddle Heritage Consultant in May 2022 (Source: Att 7.5 C101gpla Planning Scheme Amendment Documents Adoption.pdf, p.1; Source: Att 7.5 C101gpla Planning Scheme Amendment Documents Adoption.pdf, p.23).

In plain terms, the amendment works like putting a planning lock on the parts of the property that carry heritage value. Before the amendment, the demolition request exposed a gap between the place being known to Council through earlier heritage work and the place having enforceable planning protection (Source: Att 7.5 C101gpla Planning Scheme Amendment Documents Adoption.pdf, p.1). After the amendment, future demolition, buildings and works, and other Heritage Overlay matters would be assessed through Clause 43.01 rather than being left to the Building Act demolition-notification pathway alone (Source: Att 7.5 C101gpla Planning Scheme Amendment Documents Adoption.pdf, p.1; Source: Att 7.5 C101gpla Planning Scheme Amendment Documents Adoption.pdf, p.2).

The mapped control is deliberately constrained. The Council report says the amendment applies the overlay only to the portion of the property where the house and buggy shed/stables stand, allowing the remainder of the property to be subdivided and developed, and records that the owners supported restricting the overlay to that portion (Source: PUBLIC Agenda - Council Meeting - 20 December 2022.pdf, p.23). The amendment map identifies HO174 at Wallace Street and Mercer Street with a 0-20 metre scale, confirming that the statutory map change is localised rather than precinct-wide (Source: Att 7.5 C101gpla Planning Scheme Amendment Documents Adoption.pdf, p.6).

Heritage Significance And Control Logic

The statement of significance identifies the significant fabric as the Victorian Regency styled house, the Federation Georgian house attached behind it, and the stable and buggy shed (Source: Att 7.5 C101gpla Planning Scheme Amendment Documents Adoption.pdf, p.24). It expressly states that other outbuildings are not significant, which narrows the control from a general property listing to a targeted place-based listing (Source: Att 7.5 C101gpla Planning Scheme Amendment Documents Adoption.pdf, p.24). The place is assessed as locally significant for historical and aesthetic values to Meredith in Golden Plains Shire (Source: Att 7.5 C101gpla Planning Scheme Amendment Documents Adoption.pdf, p.24).

The historical case rests on Clontarf’s association with Meredith’s development as a country township on the Geelong to Ballarat and Buninyong goldfields route, and on its association with the O’Brien and Wells families from at least 1884 to 2021 (Source: Att 7.5 C101gpla Planning Scheme Amendment Documents Adoption.pdf, p.24). Henry O’Brien was active in Meredith from 1860 to 1905, called tenders to repair a cottage in 1884, operated commercial premises in Meredith, and was appointed a Justice of the Peace in January 1900 (Source: Att 7.5 C101gpla Planning Scheme Amendment Documents Adoption.pdf, pp.24-25). Alfred Ernest Wells purchased the two-acre property in 1925, was involved in local community institutions, represented Meredith Riding after the August 1946 Bannockburn Municipal elections, served as Bannockburn Shire President in September 1953, and retired from local council activity in 1955 (Source: Att 7.5 C101gpla Planning Scheme Amendment Documents Adoption.pdf, p.25).

The aesthetic case is more specific than a general old-building listing. The incorporated statement identifies the original building as an early Victorian Regency style house, with the assessment noting that the construction date could not be confirmed but that the form and materials are consistent with construction in the 1870s or earlier and that the house was renovated in 1884 (Source: Att 7.5 C101gpla Planning Scheme Amendment Documents Adoption.pdf, p.1). The later rear house is identified as a Federation Georgian house likely constructed circa 1900 at Bamganie and moved to the site in 1930 (Source: Att 7.5 C101gpla Planning Scheme Amendment Documents Adoption.pdf, p.1; Source: Att 7.5 C101gpla Planning Scheme Amendment Documents Adoption.pdf, p.25). The statement also treats views of the pair of houses along Wallace Street, particularly looking north to the Mercer Street intersection, as part of the local aesthetic significance (Source: Att 7.5 C101gpla Planning Scheme Amendment Documents Adoption.pdf, p.26).

The control design is selective. Large established trees were assessed but did not meet the threshold for the Heritage Overlay (Source: Att 7.5 C101gpla Planning Scheme Amendment Documents Adoption.pdf, p.1). The Heritage Overlay schedule entry for HO174 records no tree controls, no internal alteration controls, and no external paint controls, while applying solar energy system controls (Source: Att 7.5 C101gpla Planning Scheme Amendment Documents Adoption.pdf, pp.21-22). That means the amendment protects the external heritage place and mapped setting, but does not make the interiors or trees the focus of statutory control (Source: Att 7.5 C101gpla Planning Scheme Amendment Documents Adoption.pdf, pp.21-22; Source: Att 7.5 C101gpla Planning Scheme Amendment Documents Adoption.pdf, p.26).

Built-Fabric Condition And Future Permit Sensitivity

The incorporated statement draws an important distinction between significance and fabric condition. It notes that the private residence was vacant and had been vandalised, including removal of floor boards through closed windows that left many windows broken (Source: Att 7.5 C101gpla Planning Scheme Amendment Documents Adoption.pdf, p.25). It also states that interior walls and ceilings appear to be lined with asbestos cement or masonite sheets, that the interiors were substantially altered, and that the interior was not recommended for heritage controls (Source: Att 7.5 C101gpla Planning Scheme Amendment Documents Adoption.pdf, p.26). This explains why the amendment does not apply internal alteration controls to HO174 (Source: Att 7.5 C101gpla Planning Scheme Amendment Documents Adoption.pdf, pp.21-22).

The stables and buggy shed are treated differently again. They form part of the significant place, but the statement records them as being in very poor to ruinous condition and recommends measured drawings at 1:50 scale with detailed annotated photographs before a demolition permit is issued, subject to the satisfaction of the Shire’s Heritage Advisor and lodging copies with the local heritage society and Council (Source: Att 7.5 C101gpla Planning Scheme Amendment Documents Adoption.pdf, p.26). The mechanism here is not absolute preservation of every element in every condition; it is a planning-control framework that can require assessment, recording and heritage-adviser oversight before loss of fabric occurs (Source: Att 7.5 C101gpla Planning Scheme Amendment Documents Adoption.pdf, p.26).

Consultation And Contest

The available record shows low contestation. The amendment was exhibited from 6 October to 7 November 2022 under section 19 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 (Source: PUBLIC Agenda - Council Meeting - 20 December 2022.pdf, p.23). Council received one submission, from neighbouring residents, and that submission supported the proposed Heritage Overlay and protection of the house in particular (Source: PUBLIC Agenda - Council Meeting - 20 December 2022.pdf, p.23). The December 2022 officer recommendation was to adopt Amendment C101gpla without changes under section 29(1) of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 and request Ministerial approval under section 31(1) (Source: PUBLIC Agenda - Council Meeting - 20 December 2022.pdf, p.23).

The amendment therefore did not present the usual contested-amendment issues of unresolved objections, Panel referral, competing expert evidence, or agency-driven infrastructure conditions in the documents available in this corpus (Source: PUBLIC Agenda - Council Meeting - 20 December 2022.pdf, pp.23-26). The Council report identifies three options: adopt and seek approval, abandon, or adopt in a different form, and it says officer support was for adoption because the alternative of abandonment would leave the heritage place at demolition risk while a different-form adoption would delay the overlay through re-exhibition (Source: PUBLIC Agenda - Council Meeting - 20 December 2022.pdf, p.26).

Planning Effects

The amendment’s main effect is conservation of a locally significant place, not a change to settlement capacity. The explanatory report states the amendment will not have adverse environmental effects, will not result in bushfire risk, will not affect the Transport Integration Act 2010, and will have negligible resource and administrative cost impacts on the responsible authority (Source: Att 7.5 C101gpla Planning Scheme Amendment Documents Adoption.pdf, pp.2-3). The Council report states the cost of preparing the overlay was within the Strategic Planning budget (Source: PUBLIC Agenda - Council Meeting - 20 December 2022.pdf, p.26).

The subdivision implication is constrained but important. By limiting HO174 to the part of the property containing the house and buggy shed/stables, Council sought to protect the heritage fabric while leaving the balance of the property capable of subdivision and development, subject to ordinary planning controls (Source: PUBLIC Agenda - Council Meeting - 20 December 2022.pdf, p.23). This makes the amendment a heritage-management instrument rather than a blanket restraint over the whole land parcel (Source: PUBLIC Agenda - Council Meeting - 20 December 2022.pdf, p.23; Source: Att 7.5 C101gpla Planning Scheme Amendment Documents Adoption.pdf, p.6).

Current Status

The latest source in the manifest is the 20 December 2022 Council agenda, which recommended that Council adopt Amendment C101gpla without changes and request approval from the Minister for Planning (Source: PUBLIC Agenda - Council Meeting - 20 December 2022.pdf, p.23). The manifest records the initiative status as pending, and the provided source set does not include the signed Council minutes, Ministerial approval decision, gazettal notice, or a post-approval planning scheme extract confirming final gazettal (Source: PUBLIC Agenda - Council Meeting - 20 December 2022.pdf, pp.23-26). On the available record, the defensible status is therefore: adopted-for-request stage was recommended in December 2022, but final approval and gazettal are not proven by the supplied documents (Source: PUBLIC Agenda - Council Meeting - 20 December 2022.pdf, p.23).

Dependencies

  • Blocks: The amendment blocks unassessed demolition or alteration pathways for the significant Clontarf Homestead fabric once HO174 is approved and operative, because the place would be managed through the Heritage Overlay rather than only through the Building Act section 29A process (Source: Att 7.5 C101gpla Planning Scheme Amendment Documents Adoption.pdf, p.1; Source: Att 7.5 C101gpla Planning Scheme Amendment Documents Adoption.pdf, pp.21-22).
  • Blocked by: The final statutory effect is blocked by Ministerial approval and gazettal, because the available December 2022 agenda only records the recommendation to adopt and request approval rather than proof of approval (Source: PUBLIC Agenda - Council Meeting - 20 December 2022.pdf, p.23).
  • Informed by: The amendment is informed by the Golden Plains Shire Stage One Heritage Study 2004, the Lorraine Huddle Heritage Assessment prepared in May 2022, and the incorporated Clontarf statement of significance (Source: Att 7.5 C101gpla Planning Scheme Amendment Documents Adoption.pdf, p.1; Source: Att 7.5 C101gpla Planning Scheme Amendment Documents Adoption.pdf, pp.24-26).
  • Implements: The amendment implements Clause 15.03-1S Heritage Conservation, Clause 02.03-5 Built environment and heritage, and the Council Plan heritage objective cited in the Council report (Source: Att 7.5 C101gpla Planning Scheme Amendment Documents Adoption.pdf, pp.2-3; Source: PUBLIC Agenda - Council Meeting - 20 December 2022.pdf, pp.24-26).
  • Conflicts with: The documents do not identify a policy conflict, agency objection, or unresolved submitter objection; the only recorded submission supported the overlay (Source: PUBLIC Agenda - Council Meeting - 20 December 2022.pdf, p.23).

The heritage statement links Clontarf to the historical Geelong-Ballarat and Buninyong goldfields route and to the 1930 Country Roads Board realignment of the Wallace and Sutherland Streets corner, but the amendment itself does not create a current cross-jurisdictional infrastructure, servicing, or agency-delivery dependency in the available material (Source: Att 7.5 C101gpla Planning Scheme Amendment Documents Adoption.pdf, pp.24-26). The explanatory report says the amendment does not affect the Transport Integration Act 2010, which supports treating this as a local heritage-control matter rather than a transport-corridor amendment (Source: Att 7.5 C101gpla Planning Scheme Amendment Documents Adoption.pdf, p.3).

Gaps in This Analysis

The main gap is lifecycle proof. The corpus does not include the signed 20 December 2022 Council minutes, the Minister for Planning approval decision, the Victoria Government Gazette notice, or a consolidated post-gazettal Golden Plains Planning Scheme extract showing HO174 as operative (Source: PUBLIC Agenda - Council Meeting - 20 December 2022.pdf, p.23). Without those documents, this page should not state that C101gpla was finally approved or gazetted, even though the officer recommendation was to adopt and seek approval (Source: PUBLIC Agenda - Council Meeting - 20 December 2022.pdf, p.23).

A second gap is extraction quality for the May 2022 heritage assessment attachment. The file is in the manifest, but the extracted text mainly returns page headings and the table of contents rather than the assessment body, so the analysis relies on the December 2022 amendment package where the statement of significance and key assessment findings are readable (Source: Att 7.3 Amendment CXX- Application of Heritage Overlay to 4 Wallace Street, Meredith.pdf, p.3; Source: Att 7.5 C101gpla Planning Scheme Amendment Documents Adoption.pdf, pp.24-26).

A third gap is spatial quantification. The amendment map provides a local mapped HO174 area with a 0-20 metre scale, but the extracted text does not provide the parcel area, the exact HO174 mapped area, or the residual developable area outside the overlay (Source: Att 7.5 C101gpla Planning Scheme Amendment Documents Adoption.pdf, p.6). The practical conclusion that the balance of the property can still be subdivided and developed comes from the Council report, but a quantified land-take analysis would require the GIS overlay polygon or a measured planning scheme map extract (Source: PUBLIC Agenda - Council Meeting - 20 December 2022.pdf, p.23).

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