About the Heritage Framework

www.legislation.wa.gov.au (Heritage Act 2018)

The State Register of Heritage Places is a statutory list of places that represent the story of Western Australia's history and development and is managed by the Heritage Council of Western Australia through the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage.

The Heritage Council and the DPLH have a collective, publicly available, online portal called inHerit which provides information about heritage places and listings within Western Australia. inHerit contains comprehensive information about cultural heritage places listed in the State Register of Heritage Places, Local Government surveys and other lists.

Visit www.inherit.dplh.wa.gov.au

The Shire currently has 12 places on the State Register (links provided via the inHerit database) for each place below:

  

A typical Local Government heritage framework consists of a:

  • Local Heritage Survey;
  • Local Heritage List; and
  • Heritage Local Planning Policy.

 

Under the Heritage Act 2018, each local government is to develop a Local Heritage Survey of places in its district that are, or may become, of cultural heritage significance. A Local Heritage Survey is a non-statutory document that provides a cultural and historical record for the community and assists the Shire in implementing decisions that are in harmony with its cultural heritage values. The Local Heritage Survey categorises heritage places into levels of significance depending on their heritage value.

Under the Planning and Development (Local Planning Schemes) Regulations 2015, the local government is to establish a Local Heritage List to identify places within the area that are worthy of built heritage conservation. The places on the Local Heritage List are generally derived from the places of high significance on the Local Heritage Survey and provide a statutory mechanism to ensure development additions, alterations and/or modifications are consistent with the heritage value of the place.

 

A Local Planning Policy for heritage matters may be established under the Planning and Development (Local Planning Schemes) Regulations 2015 to provide guidelines, objectives and controls for applicable development. A Heritage Local Planning Policy assists landowners of applicable heritage places as well as the Shire in making decisions that are consistent with the relevant cultural and heritage values.

 

About the Heritage Framework Review

The Shire was recently successful in obtaining a $20,000 grant from the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage's through their 2021 - 2022 Local Government Heritage Consultant Grants Program.

The grant has been awarded to the Shire to engage a heritage professional to review its Municipal Heritage Inventory in order to create a contemporary and accurate heritage framework including a:

  • Local Heritage Survey (previously referred to as Municipal Heritage Inventory);
  • Local Heritage List; and
  • Heritage Local Planning Policy.

 

The Shire is pleased to engage Laura Gray of Heritage Intelligence, to undertake the review. As an architect specialising in heritage projects in Western Australia, Laura brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to this project. In addition to Laura's expertise, the Shire is engaging with the community whose input, local knowledge and information will be invaluable to this project.  

You can view the Shire's current Municipal Heritage Inventory (Part 1 and Part 2) below, which is pending revision.

 

Previous Versions:

 

It is anticipated that the project will take 1 to 2 years and will be undertaken at the same time as the review of the Local Planning Framework. The Project is broken into 7 key stages:

  1. Project plan preparation and consultant appointment - COMPLETE
  2. Preliminary community engagement, research and document review - COMPLETE
  3. Call for public nominations- COMPLETE
  4. Draft document preparation
  5. Public consultation and advertising
  6. Review of all submissions and documents
  7. Final preparation of Local Heritage Survey, Heritage List and Heritage Local Planning Policy

You can view the Preliminary Working Draft List of Places via the link below.

Preliminary Working Draft of Places - August 2022

 

The Shire previously asked for any information, photographs, details, etc. regarding places on this preliminary draft list. The nomination period has since closed, please note that this preliminary draft list is not necessarily a reflection of the final Local Heritage Survey. It is a starting point for our consultant and the community to work from, and there are over 200 places that will need to be reviewed.

 

FAQs

What is considered a heritage 'place'?

A heritage place may include buildings, structures, gardens, cemeteries, memorials and/or archaeological sites. 

What is the difference between a Local Heritage Survey and a Local Heritage List?

A Local Heritage Survey is a non-statutory record of heritage places that hold a level of cultural or heritage value within a local government area.

A Local Heritage Survey does not provide any statutory mechanism to control and manage development whereas a Heritage List is a statutory listing of heritage places that are usually of the highest significance to the local government area. 

Will all places on the Local Heritage Survey be on the Local Heritage List?

No, generally they are not. A Heritage List usually only contains those places of highest significance to the local government area, whereas the Heritage Survey is an extensive inventory of places of all levels of significance. 

Can I recommend a heritage place for inclusion in the Heritage Framework?

At the end of 2022, the Shire called for public nominations of heritage places.

Will I have an opportunity to review the Heritage documents once they are prepared?

Yes. Once the draft documentation is prepared, there will be a public consultation period where the community can review the content. The community will be able to make submissions for consideration by the Shire and the consultant. 

This public consultation is expected to occur in 2023. 

What about State Heritage?

Similar to a Local Heritage List, the Heritage Council of Western Australia manage the State Register of Heritage Places with the assistance of the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage (DPLH).  

The State Register of Heritage Places is a statutory list of places that represent the story of Western Australia's history and development. 

The Heritage Council of Western Australia is the State Government's advisory body on heritage matters and is vested with functions and powers under the Heritage Act 2018. One of their key powers is to consider all heritage places nominated for the State Register by considering the assessment and recommendations of the DPLH.

The Heritage Council and the DPLH have a collective, publicly available, online portal called inHerit which provides information about heritage places and listings within Western Australia. inHerit contains comprehensive information about cultural heritage places listed in the State Register of Heritage Places, Local Government surveys and other lists.

Visit www.inherit.dplh.wa.gov.au