City of Melbourne Heritage, Urban Character & The

Expansion of The Capital City Zone

Windsor Hotel Development – Artist Impression. Image Source: http://www.melbourneheritage.org.au/news/

PART ONE – HERITAGE

How is heritage defined by the City of Melbourne?We look at current policy and the proposed Planning Scheme Amendment C186 – Central City (Hoddle Grid) Heritage Review which looks to add up to 99 sites for heritage protection.

PART TWO – URBAN CHARACTER

What social and cultural processes help define places and communities?We look at some constructions of the urban character and the proposed Amendment C188 – Central City Built Form which proposes how Melbourne city should feel and function at street level.

PART THREE – FUTURE HERITAGE AND URBAN CHARACTERHow do we interpret 'places'? We look at the proposed Planning Scheme Amendment C196 – City North Structure Plan and hazard to guess what this will mean to the area of Carlton that will be added to the Capital City Zone in terms of “place”, specifically the changes to urban character and heritage.

PART ONE – HERITAGE

How is the heritage defined by the City of Melbourne?

Heritage in the Capital City Zone

Melbourne Planning Scheme,

Clause 22.04

“The heritage of the Capital City Zone area, comprising individual buildings, precincts, significant trees, and aboriginal archaeological sites, is a significant part of Melbourne’s attraction as a place in which to live, visit, do business and invest. It is also important for cultural and sociological reasons, providing a distinctive historical character and a sense of continuity. Much of Melbourne’s charm is provided by its older buildings, which, while not always of high individual significance, together provide cultural significance or interest, and should be retained in their three dimensional form, not as two dimensional facades as has sometimes occurred .”

Heritage Precincts

The key development periods are:1. Frontier Town: to 1852 4. The City Beautiful: 1900-19292. Gold: 1952-1859 5. The New Image: 1930-19563. Boom and bust: 1860-1900 6. The Urban Spurt: 1956-1975

Heritage Production in Capital City Zone

The Heritage Overlay, Clause 43.01

Heritage precincts and sites are identified in the Heritage Overlay

Heritage Places and elements of the city that contribute to heritage places have statutory protection

The Heritage Overlay outlines how the site is to be treated

The majority of the buildings within a precinct will be graded heritage buildings

Planning Scheme Amendment C186 Central City (Hoddle Grid) Heritage Review

Major heritage reviews have been conducted by the City of Melbourne in 1985, 1993, 2002

Planning Scheme Amendment C186 – Central City (Hoddle Grid) Heritage Review is the latest in 2011

C186 reviews all previous studies and seeks to have 99 properties added to the Heritage overlay.

The Amendment has been on hold with the Planning Minister the same time as he prepares to unveil his plans to increase CBD density even further.

PART TWO – URBAN CHARACTER

What social and cultural processes help define communities and places?

Defining Urban Character

Urban character is about the social and physical relations between people and built form (Dovey, 2004).

Urban character is multifaceted and contradictory:– Public Realm & Vested Interest– Continuity & Change– Dynamic & Static – Constructed & Intrinsic – Contestable & Defined by policy– Scale – Local Vs Global etc

Urban design and regulatory frameworks have a major impact on the character of the city

City of Melbourne: Sense of PlaceUrban Character is dependent on context and scale:

Policy Basis

The Municipal Strategic Statement provides broad urban characteristics

Local Policy on Urban Design is about the experience

Place Marketing

Melbourne as one of the most liveable cities of the world is attractive to visitors.

Audience Contexts

International audience – tourists, students, investors

Residents – increased numbers changing the character of the city

Local city visitors – workers, shoppers, event attendees etc

Urban Character and Public Space

The Impact of Urban Design on Urban

Character: Places for People 2004

– A larger residential community

– An increasing student population

– Improved streets for public life

– New squares, promenades and parks

– A revitalised network of lanes and arcades

– More places to sit and pause

– City-wide art programs

– Attractions and places to go

– A 24-hour city

– Better cycle and public transport access

– An integrated policy for street treatment and furniture

– A greener city

– A remarkable increase in public life

Amendment C188 – Central City Built Form

Built Form Strategy 2011 Building Design Guidelines

The built form impacts on economics that drive development in a number of ways. The Built Form Strategy identifies a preferred built form for the whole CBD as the individual precincts, and supports those public realm assets by addressing :

height scale setbacks percentage of activation at lower levels location of building services incorporation of heritage fabric parking provision - podiums vs basement, crossovers intensity of development

Character, Built Form and Heritage

“Built form controls have successfully maintained an attractive, fine grain, pedestrian-scale environment, despite some minor breaches of the controls. The location of heritage sites/precincts, civic/ public open space and major civic buildings is often an indication as to why specific height controls exist” (See the map opposite)

(City of Melbourne 2011, 24)

The Retail Core 40m height control area has become a valued part of this character. The Review proposes re-conceptualising this as a Civic Core, and extending it along Elizabeth and Swanston Streets.

(City of Melbourne 2011, 20)

Note: These pink/purple colours highlight the Special Height Control Areas are intrinsic aspects of Melbourne’s sense of place and identity.

Evolution of Urban CharacterThe preferred built form therefore provides a human scale street environment that feels safe, engages interest and

feels welcoming. To provide a sense of place, it needs to be evolutionary, to maintain a sense of continuity with the familiar, and build on those aspects of Melbourne that people know and love. (City of Melbourne 2011, 8)

PART THREE – FUTURE HERITAGE AND URBAN CHARACTER

How do we interpret 'places'?

Capital City Zone Expansion

Existing Capital City Zone Land affected by the amendment includes Carlton South

Processes of Urban ChangePlanning Scheme Amendment C196

– City North Structure Plan

It is the State Planning Minister, Matthew Guy’s vision to expand the central business district and encourage high-rise towers from Carlton to the Shrine, and from Richmond to the West Gate Bridge

It is his solution to solve greater Melbourne’s long term population/housing issue.

It is contrary to the City of Melbourne current urban character with its Global City Aspirations as based on being a city for the people and a compact city.

It implements changes to the zone from Mixed Use to Capital City Zone, the schedule to the zone and building controls

Urban Character & Heritage: Carlton

Carlton A Vision 2010, an Integrated Local Area Plan

Current State:• 19th Century Building and

Streetscapes, squares and gardens• Major Education, research, medical,

cultural and sporting facilities• Culturally diverse residents including

Lygon St Cultural precinct• According to locals, the built form

and character are important:– Local Area as Village– Streetscape proportions– Sense of openness– Streets for walking– Local area amenity

• The area where th CCZ is to be expanded is mainly mixed use, with some public use zones and some heritage sites

Current Building Stock& Heritage

The current heritage overlay contains a few dozen sites.They are mainly Victorian houses along Grattan and Peel Streets, and the oldest factories.

A review of heritage sites conducted in 2011 was done of the heritage in the area and many factory and warehouse buildings of the Interwar period and some WWII were assessed and recommended for addition to the overlay.

Heritage additions significant contribution to urban character as the number of sites reflect former use and development of the suburb.

Planning Scheme Amendment C196 – City North

The Planning scheme amendment provides a framework to guide the development as an extension of the CBD as a knowledge and innovation precinct

To create a precinct with a 6 to 15 storey built form scale as characterised by the university, research and medical buildings, stepping down at the interface to the lowerscale surrounding established neighbourhoods.

To create a central city precinct with a scale of buildings distinct from the very tall built form in the Hoddle Grid area to the south.

Development will occur in accordance with design guidelines that create a similar effect on public space & heritage to those in the CBD

Capital City Functions

Development, Heritage & Urban Character

The proposed development in City North/Carlton South will impact the Heritage and Urban Character.

Lack of recognised heritage or urban character

Urban Character is multifaceted and like heritage, it needs to defined to be protected.

If urban character evolves, what impact will the City North frame work have on continuity?

While a sense of place, urban character and heritage are contestable, they are inextricable from physical form.