Non-Statutory Conservation Programs

City Restoration Programs And Advisory Services

Heritage advisory services have operated in Victoria since 1977 and, over the years, have aided greatly in the proper administration of heritage controls and provided aid for many property owners. Some 30 councils received matching funding for heritage advisers from Heritage Victoria in the period, 1996-97.

An experienced conservation architect can advise the public who own significant sites on restoration or development questions or advise the City on planning applications, on a periodical basis (weekly, fortnightly, monthly). This work will vary with the number of properties listed in the planning scheme for heritage protection.

An adviser can:

• provide free development advice to planning permit applicants who own heritage sites;
• comment on planning permit proposals for heritage sites to council or council officers;
• identify additional places of significance in the City and add to the existing documentation of identified heritage sites; and
• promote heritage conservation and the advisory service

Given that applications for planning permits may be required from rate payers and the scarcity of experienced conservation architects in the area, this service can satisfy many problems met by applicants without causing them undue personal expense.

This is of particular assistance in the continuing assessment of identified sites which undergo change and the discovery of new heritage sites. Applications for conservation funding can also be assisted by advisers and hence may achieve a higher success rate.

Local Heritage Low interest Loans

As a financial incentive for restoration or just repair of valuable sites, a policy of low interest loans (perhaps managed by a volunteer local advisory committee and advised by the heritage adviser) should be investigated. As with the heritage adviser, this can promote heritage concepts and improve the visual environment while providing financial assistance to those who could otherwise not afford to undertake restoration schemes.

Apart from local funding, there is also the Victorian Heritage Restoration Fund which provides financial assistance to sites which are protected in planning schemes and do not attract any other type of heritage funding.

Revolving funds of this type have been operating in Victoria since the Maldon fund was created in 1978 and other Councils have followed, many successfully (Geelong, Port Fairy). Their operation requires specialist heritage advice to ensure the proper expenditure of limited funds and may involve the creation of an agreement with the owner or a conservation covenant on the title to ensure the protection of the investment.

The funds also benefit from firm lending policies where the available money acts as an incentive to achieve works which would otherwise not be carried out. This may involve cases of financial hardship or an immediate need for urgent works. Priority should also be given to fundamental works such as restumping, drainage, and roofing.

The issue of financial hardship needs to be carefully assessed, given that research has shown that few owners of residential properties are disadvantaged by heritage planning controls. This may not be the case for commercial sites.

Council could also consider allowing for the administration costs involved with drawing up agreements, processing payments and following up arrears. These costs could be covered by the interest charged on each loan or as a cost to Council.

City Financial Incentives, Heritage Awards, Heritage Walks and General Promotion

The City could investigate financial incentive programs (see also rate rebates above) which encourage restoration or refurbishment of heritage buildings, streetscapes and areas. These might include townscape improvement schemes where for example, local traders contribute to an improvement fund which is distributed for work on painting facades, erecting related street furniture and signs and planting trees which complement the period of the precinct.

Holding heritage restoration or garden competitions and developing heritage walks or rides helps maintain public awareness of heritage issues and standards, while also encouraging improvement of the City's built assets and fostering tourism. A program of annual heritage awards has been operated by the former City of Warrnambool and the City of Greater Geelong.

Other promotional activities could be:

• production of tourist postcards depicting current and early scenes around the City to be sold at tourist information centres and local libraries;
• investigate wider use of tourist signs and trails to complement heritage drives or walks;
• investigate heritage plaques (ensuring that they do not compromise the heritage value of the site);
• celebration of historical events in the City's history;
• organise workshops or public instruction dealing with heritage and related issues;
• organise trade fairs, encouraging local suppliers and trades people to show their work as it relates to heritage;
• develop or assist the development of an education kit on local heritage for each of the district's schools and forge links with the new Monash campuses at Frankston and near Berwick;
• encourage a weekly heritage column in local newspapers or newsletters;
• support the local history archives at the Frankston library and the Ballam Park collection;
• provide a management plan to conserve historic Council records (Council minutes, rate books, early building and engineering plans) including making copies (micro-fiche or optical disk) to allow safe community access to ageing and fragile records;
• in the interim store historic Council records in fire, weather and vermin–proof storage and limit handling;
• provide the Frankston library with (micro-fiche or optical disk) copies of all municipal rate books and minute books held by Council;
• develop a heritage recording program, utilising the community where possible, to record photographically all aspects of the City's heritage to ensure that the loss of historic places is not absolute;
• aiding the setting up of a picture collection acquisition and indexing program based on copying residents' old photographs, indexing and publication;
• publish the above images on compact disk (CD) as a community resource and potential use on Council's home page on the Internet;
• use this study as the basis for a personal computer based Heritage Database which could be installed in the Frankston City libraries as a reference for local historians and potentially the basis for adding more sites or site histories to the study findings;
• acquire the publications listed in the Restoration Guidelines bibliography of this report for use by the public and a separate set for use by Council planning or conservation officers;
• continuing acquisition of State Library of Victoria and other micro-fiche collections i.e. relevant local maps from the Central Plans Office historical plan collection; and
• set up a local oral history resource in the library (in conjunction with relevant historical societies) which would include interviewing, transcription, indexing and publication, in coordination with the Oral History Society of Dandenong and the State Library of Victoria;

Department Of Natural Resources and Environment Community Environment Fund Grants Program

An annual grants program has been provided by the above ministry to aid voluntary community groups active in conservation of heritage places on public land (i.e. local historical societies, special project groups), usually up to the value of $6000. Money is directed towards providing materials for physical works, including maintenance and interpretation and applications must be accompanied by a management plan by a heritage architect or appropriate heritage consultant.

Contact: Community Programs section, Department of Conservation & Natural Resources, contact Helen Bull, 9287 7157.

Community Heritage Grants

The National Preservation Office (National Library, Canberra) offers similar grants of up to $5000 to community groups for preservation of their documentary heritage. The local library could review their local history collection or the historical society could, copy label and make their collection more generally available, particularly to schools.

Contact: National Preservation Office, National Library of Australia, Canberra, ACT 2600

australian heritage commission national estate grants program

This is administered by the Australian Heritage Commission for funding conservation of places or the conduct of heritage studies which have potential national significance. Municipalities could seek funding for this type of activity. Contact: Australian Heritage Commission, GPO Box 1567, Canberra ACT 2601, Ph: (06) 217 2111, Fax: (06) 217 2095, email: cwells@ahc.gov.au.