The building at 1125 Bells Rd, Gowangardie, dates to the 1870s and is significantly dilapidated.
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Contributed
City of Greater Shepparton councillors voted against applying the heritage overlay to four properties during the April council meeting.
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The properties were an agricultural block in Gowangardie, a church in Katandra West and two residential properties in Shepparton.
The Gowangardie property was submitted to protect a log barn and outbuilding that date back to the 1870s.
The buildings are in a state of extreme dilapidation, with termites present and a tree growing through one building.
The submission was made in 2022 by the previous owners, who were descendants of the family that built the original structures.
In 2023, the property was sold to new owners, who have raised concerns about the structural integrity of the buildings and proximity to cattle yards.
Cr Geoff Akers said the heritage overlay would be an unreasonable burden on the current owners and that “it creates ongoing safety risks, places liability on the owner and potentially on us”.
“What are we really preserving?” Cr Akers said.
The St Bernard’s Catholic Church in Katandra West was submitted to protect the site as an example of the presence of the Catholic community in the area.
The current owner expressed concern that the heritage overlay would impede plans to remove two poisonous palm trees and replace the current iron spike fence with a more secure modern steel fence.
Cr Fern Summer said heritage overlays were often contentious and although it did ”not necessarily stop development, it can certainly make things harder”.
The heritage overlay would allow the owner to submit planning proposals; however, council documents acknowledge the trees as being important parts of the site’s character.
The two Shepparton residential properties were not criticised, but they were unable to receive the heritage overlay due to the four properties being combined into one motion.
The Katandra West property features two poisonous palm trees.
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The house at 116 Knight Street, Shepparton dates to the 1920s and was unusual for its time.
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Rechelle Zammit
The house at 28 Sutherland Avenue, Shepparton was submitted as an example of the northward expansion of Shepparton circa 1900.
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Rechelle Zammit
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