Help Council celebrate, protect and enhance heritage in Waverley

7 August 2020

Waverley Council is inviting the community to help celebrate, protect and enhance our area’s heritage by providing feedback on our draft Waverley Heritage Assessment.

The Council has prepared a draft Heritage Assessment to demonstrate the value we place on heritage in all forms – built environment, landscapes and streetscapes.

Once finalised, the Assessment will be used to inform Council decision-making with regards to Development Applications and Planning Proposals, and to make recommendations for the future of Waverley’s building and landscapes.  It will also inform the comprehensive review of the LEP and DCP.

The community is invited to provide its feedback about the draft Heritage Assessment at haveyoursay.waverley.nsw.gov.au. Consultation closes on 10 September 2020.

The draft Heritage Assessment proposes:

• 59 new individually listed items additions to Schedule 5 of the Waverley Local Environment Plan
• four new urban conservation areas (Bondi O’Brien Estate, Bondi Basin Inter-War, Bondi Road and Avoca Estate)
• four amended urban conservation area (Charing Cross, Yanko-Lugar Brae [currently Evans Street], Grafton Street, Palmerston)
• one new landscape conservation area (Dickson Estate)
• one amended landscape conservation area (South Bronte Headland-Calga)
• one heritage significant trees site (Rowland Ave – Bondi’s first tram terminus).

The draft Assessment was unanimously endorsed on 5 May by Council and owners affected by the proposed changes have been notified.

Mayor of Waverley, Paula Masselos, said Waverley’s heritage buildings, streetscapes, landscapes and items are much loved by the community and contribute to the area’s highly-prized character.

“The Council wants to hear from the community about this draft Heritage Assessment we’ve prepared to demonstrate the value we place on heritage in all its forms,” Mayor Masselos said.

“These places have significant cultural value and we invite feedback from property owners and the wider community to help us tell the story of Waverley’s history as one of the earliest municipalities in colonial NSW.”

As part of this consultation, the Council seeks local history information that could be used to inform further heritage proposals in Waverley. It also seeks expressions of interest from residents to be part of a Heritage Panel, who will, along with experts, assist in reviewing feedback about the Assessment.

Once consultation concludes:

• Feedback will be assessed and incorporated into an updated draft Heritage Assessment report for Council’s consideration and adoption;
• For objectivity, and as part of a Peer Review, an expert panel made up of two heritage experts and one community member will be convened to assess public feedback where there are conflicts with the opinions of Council officers;
• The panel’s findings will inform the post-exhibition updated draft Assessment and the future report to Council
• Once the Waverley Heritage Assessment is adopted by Council, a Planning Proposal will be prepared to incorporate the adopted recommendations into the Heritage Schedule of the Waverley Local Environmental Plan (LEP).

To provide feedback, and for more information about the draft Waverley Heritage Assessment, click here.

The (above) link also includes a link to an interactive map of properties identified in the draft Assessment.

-ENDS-

Media inquiries: media@waverley.nsw.gov.au or 0418 075 532