1. Introduction
Australian society has become more aware in the last few decades of the importance of preserving those things that provide an insight into our cultural identity. These "things", cultural heritage items, include buildings, relics, works, streets, towns and rural landscapes that we want to protect and preserve for future generations.
The heritage significance of such items changes as society itself changes over time, and items can be significant at a variety of geographic levels (local, regional, state, national, world) but the following criteria are generally used to assess such significance: historic associations; creative excellence or innovation; social, spiritual or cultural association with a particular community; technical research or educational potential; rarity; and whether an item represents an important class of historic items.
In response to these changing community concerns the NSW Government introduced the Heritage Act in 1977. This ensures protection for items listed in the Heritage Council Register and in the schedules to local or regional environmental plans.
2. The Heritage Council
The Heritage Council was created by the Heritage Act and provides advice and recommendations to the Minister for Urban Affairs and Planning regarding conservation orders. Such orders are made to control alterations, damage, demolition and development of important heritage sites. An owner of an item protected by such an order must first obtain approval of the Heritage Council. Under the terms of the EP&A this entails that any development application must go through the procedures for "integrated development" (Part 4 - Division 5 EP&A).
3. The Local Council
However, while the Heritage Council has played an important role in protecting many things, it is at the local council level where heritage items are increasingly protected through the use of heritage studies, local environmental plans and development control plans. In this respect it is important to become involved at the local level in protecting heritage items that you feel are significant to your community as local councils can protect such items via inclusion in local environmental plans.
Should an item be protected under a local environmental plan and it is the subject of a development application then it will need to meet the requirements of the LEP if development consent is to be given.
4. Finding out if an item is protected
Approach your local council and ask the heritage or planning officer if the local environmental plan contains a heritage schedule containing heritage protected items and if the council has any other heritage policies or codes in force. If they do then the terms of any council policy will affect any development application that you make.
If the council does not have any such schedule or policy, approach the Heritage Council and ask to see their register of protected items. Any item protected by a conservation order will require Heritage Office approval before development consent can be given. Note that the Heritage Council also holds the State Heritage Inventory which should include all those items protected under the Heritage Act as well as those protected under local environmental plans.
You may also need to check the Register of the National Estate, maintained by the Australian Heritage Commission, which protects items of national significance. Such items require the consent of the Australian Heritage Commission before any development can take place.
Protected items can still be the subject of development. Often they will need to be maintained in order to enable continued use by both owners and the public. Any council or Heritage Council policy in this regard will attempt to strike a balance between the need to maintain the significance of the item as a heritage item and the need to maintain the item's use to the community. Even so, it is wise to check with the relevant authority before any development work is carried out, as "development" is often construed very widely in relation to heritage items.