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title: Heritage Overlay HO755 Deletion - 63-77 Ebden Street, Heathcote council: greater-bendigo state: vic category: constraint classification: MINOR status: in-progress last_compiled: 2026-05-31 source_docs:

  • City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf

Heritage Overlay HO755 Deletion - 63-77 Ebden Street, Heathcote

The proposed deletion of Heritage Overlay HO755 from part of 63-77 Ebden Street, Heathcote is a mapping-correction item within Planning Scheme Amendment C285gben, not a reassessment of the heritage significance of the former Our Lady Help of Christians Church. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.105) The practical planning effect is to remove an erroneous heritage permit trigger from land that Council identifies as recently subdivided for residential purposes and as containing no item of heritage significance, while leaving HO755 directed to the adjoining heritage place at 59 Ebden Street, Heathcote. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.109)

Background

Planning Scheme Amendment C285gben is a municipal corrections amendment prepared by Greater Bendigo City Council to correct zoning and overlay mapping errors, remove redundant overlays, correct planning scheme text, rezone one privately owned property to a residential zone, and apply the Heritage Overlay to two properties and part of 23 properties. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.32-34) The amendment applies across multiple Bendigo suburbs and towns, including Heathcote, and uses mapping changes rather than a single-site amendment pathway. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.33, 100-101)

Council previously resolved on 22 April 2024 to seek authorisation from the Minister for Planning to prepare and exhibit the amendment, prepare it generally in accordance with the amendment documentation, place it on exhibition subject to authorisation, and authorise minor changes that did not alter the amendment’s overall intent. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.38-39) The Minister for Planning authorised preparation and public exhibition on 22 August 2025, with the agenda report identifying the deletion of three properties after authorisation as the only noteworthy change required to satisfy bushfire-planning consistency under Clause 13.02-1S. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.39)

The amendment was publicly exhibited from 23 October 2025 to 22 December 2025 after the exhibition period was extended because additional notifications were required. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.37) Nine submissions were received, with five opposing and four supporting submissions, and the unresolved submissions related to vegetation-protection concerns in Bendigo Regional Park rather than the HO755 deletion at Ebden Street. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.32, 34-35)

Analysis

Heritage-control mechanism

HO755 is identified in the amendment documentation as the Heritage Overlay for Our Lady Help of Christians Church (former). (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.105) The amendment proposes to delete HO755 from part of 63-77 Ebden Street, Heathcote as shown on Planning Scheme Map No. 44HO. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.105) The mapping reference table identifies the affected land as 63-77 Ebden Street, Heathcote, the mapping reference as Greater Bendigo C285gben d-hoMap44 Exhibition, and the ownership category as private land. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.127-128)

The mechanism is a boundary correction: Council states that 63-77 Ebden Street has recently been subdivided for residential purposes, does not contain any item of heritage significance, and was erroneously included when HO755 was mapped. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.109) Council states that HO755 applies to the adjoining property at 59 Ebden Street, Heathcote, which means the deletion from 63-77 Ebden Street is not presented as removal of protection from the former church place itself. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.109)

The planning distinction matters because a Heritage Overlay is a statutory permit trigger for heritage-place management, and an incorrectly extended overlay can require heritage assessment for land that Council says does not contain the heritage fabric or heritage item. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.109, 122-123) In simple terms, the council file says the heritage label was placed over the neighbouring residential-subdivision land as well as the church land, and this amendment proposes to move the label back to the land where Council says the heritage place actually sits. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.109)

Relationship to heritage policy

The amendment documentation frames heritage corrections through Clause 15.03-1S, which has the objective of conserving places of heritage significance. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.120) The explanatory report states that the amendment supports heritage policy by applying the Heritage Overlay to new places, updating statements of significance, and removing the Heritage Overlay from places where it is redundant. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.120, 122)

Planning Practice Note 1 is cited in the amendment as guidance for applying and rationalising the Heritage Overlay, including the need for a clear statement of significance and accurate correlation between the Heritage Overlay schedule and map. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.122-123) On the Ebden Street facts recorded in the agenda, the relevant heritage-policy issue is therefore map accuracy rather than heritage-significance reassessment, because the source document does not present a new statement of significance or a contrary heritage assessment for 63-77 Ebden Street. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.105, 109, 122-123)

Residential land-use effect

Council states that 63-77 Ebden Street has recently been subdivided for residential purposes and contains no item of heritage significance. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.109) The expected operational effect of deleting HO755 from that land is the removal of an unnecessary heritage-control layer from the residential subdivision land, while the adjoining HO755 heritage place at 59 Ebden Street remains the identified location of the former church overlay. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.105, 109)

The explanatory report states more generally that correcting zoning maps and deleting redundant overlays is expected to remove unnecessary planning permit triggers and facilitate use and development of affected land. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.112) For 63-77 Ebden Street, that general mechanism should be read narrowly: the available source supports removal of an erroneous Heritage Overlay trigger, but it does not quantify lot numbers, subdivision yield, dwelling capacity, or any change to non-heritage planning controls on the land. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.109, 112, 127-128)

Bushfire and hazard screening

The explanatory report states that 63-77 Ebden Street, Heathcote is within a designated bushfire prone area. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.114) The same report states that designated bushfire prone sites affected by the rezoning or overlay deletion, including 63-77 Ebden Street, were assessed against Clause 13.02-1S and were determined not to result in the introduction or intensification of development that would exceed BAL-12.5 under AS 3959-2018. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.113-114)

This is a constraint-management finding rather than a heritage finding: the agenda does not say that deleting HO755 creates new residential zoning or introduces a new sensitive use at 63-77 Ebden Street. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.109, 113-114) The bushfire discussion instead indicates that Council treated overlay deletion as a potential planning-control change requiring Clause 13.02-1S screening, and that Council considered the change acceptable at the BAL-12.5 threshold recorded in the explanatory report. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.113-114)

Submissions and contested issues

The amendment received nine submissions: five opposing and four supporting. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.34) Four opposing submissions concerned the removal of Vegetation Protection Overlay Schedule 2 from public land near submitters’ properties, one opposing submitter requested that additional land be included in the amendment, three supporting submissions were from public authorities, and one supporting submission was from the Taungurung Land and Waters Council. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.34)

The two unresolved submissions identified in the officer report relate to vegetation protection within Bendigo Regional Park, not the Ebden Street HO755 deletion. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.32, 34-36) The officer response recommends no change to the amendment for the unresolved vegetation submissions and referral to a Planning Panel, which means the HO755 deletion is procedurally bundled with the whole amendment even though it is not the contested issue identified in the agenda report. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.32-37)

Current Status

As at the 20 April 2026 Council agenda, officers recommended that Council consider all submissions, endorse the officer response as the basis for the City submission to a Planning Panel, request the Minister for Planning to appoint a Planning Panel, and refer all submissions to that Panel under Part 8 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.33) The explanatory report listed a directions hearing for the week starting Monday 18 May 2026 and a Panel hearing for the week starting Monday 15 June 2026. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.101)

The agenda states that a further report would be presented to Council after the Planning Panel recommendations to enable decision-making on adoption of the amendment. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.32) On the available source, the HO755 deletion is therefore not yet recorded as approved or gazetted; it is recorded as part of an exhibited amendment moving toward Panel consideration. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.32-33, 101)

Dependencies

  • Blocks: The erroneous HO755 permit trigger on 63-77 Ebden Street remains unresolved until Planning Scheme Amendment C285gben is adopted, approved, and implemented in the planning scheme maps. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.33, 105, 109)
  • Blocked by: The deletion is procedurally dependent on the amendment pathway, including Panel referral after unresolved submissions and later Council consideration of the Panel recommendations. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.32-33, 36-37)
  • Informed by: The available source identifies the explanatory report, mapping reference table, officer response to submissions, and redacted submissions as amendment materials attached to the 20 April 2026 agenda. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.39)
  • Implements: The heritage component implements the amendment’s stated objective of correcting overlay mapping errors and maintaining accurate correlation between the Heritage Overlay schedule and map under Planning Practice Note 1. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.105, 122-123)
  • Conflicts with: The source document identifies unresolved conflict around VPO2 deletion in Bendigo Regional Park, but it does not identify conflict about deleting HO755 from 63-77 Ebden Street. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.32, 34-36)

No cross-jurisdictional infrastructure, agency-servicing, or adjacent-council dependency is identified for the HO755 deletion at 63-77 Ebden Street in the available source. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.105, 109, 127-128) The amendment does include broader agency engagement, including prescribed-minister notification, notice to relevant authorities and organisations, and preliminary comments from agencies such as CFA and DEECA, but the source does not connect those agency matters specifically to the Ebden Street heritage deletion. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.37, 123-124)

Gaps in This Analysis

The corpus for this page contains only the 20 April 2026 Council agenda and its extracted attachments, so this page cannot verify the exact existing and proposed HO755 map geometry beyond the text reference to Planning Scheme Map No. 44HO and mapping reference Greater Bendigo C285gben d-hoMap44 Exhibition. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.105, 127-128) The source does not include the current HO755 schedule entry, the statement of significance for Our Lady Help of Christians Church (former), the title plan or subdivision plan for 63-77 Ebden Street, or the exhibited map sheet itself in text form. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.105, 109, 127-128)

The main analytical gap is spatial: without the current and proposed Map 44HO graphics, this page cannot quantify the area of HO755 being removed from 63-77 Ebden Street or confirm how the revised boundary relates to 59 Ebden Street. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.105, 109, 127-128) The second gap is evidentiary: without the HO755 statement of significance or original heritage citation, this page cannot independently test Council’s statement that 63-77 Ebden Street contains no item of heritage significance. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.109)

Graph View