Dalsworth 36 Kooyongkoot Road Amendment C284, Boroondara Planning Scheme Proposed inclusion of 36 Kooyongkoot Road, Hawthorn in the Schedule to the Heritage Overlay Expert heritage evidence Prepared by Peter Lovell Instructed by Leon and Susan Lachal August 2019 Prepared by Prepared for Leon and Susan Lachal This report is released subject to the following qualifications and conditions: • The report may only be used by named addressee for the purpose for which it was commissioned and in accordance with the corresponding conditions of engagement. • The report may only be reproduced in full. • The report shall not be considered as relieving any other party of their responsibilities, liabilities and contractual obligations • The content of this document is copyright protected. The copyright of all images, maps and diagrams remains with Lovell Chen or with the photographer/ collection as indicated. Historical sources and reference material used in the preparation of this report are acknowledged and referenced. Reasonable effort has been made to identify, contact, acknowledge and obtain permission to use material from the relevant copyright owners. You may not display, print or reproduce any image, map or diagram without the permission of the copyright holder, who should be contacted directly. Statement of Instructions, Qualifications and Experience and Declaration Authorship of this report This statement of evidence has been prepared by Mr Peter Haynes Lovell, Director of Lovell Chen Pty Ltd, Architects and Heritage Consultants, Level 5, 176 Wellington Parade, East Melbourne, assisted by Ms Candice Keeling, Heritage Consultant, also of Lovell Chen. The views expressed in the statement are those of Mr Peter Lovell. Qualifications and experience I have a Bachelor of Building degree from Melbourne University and have been director of the above practice, which I established with Richard Allom in 1981. Over the past 39 years I have worked in the field of building conservation and have been involved in, and responsible for, a wide range of conservation related projects. These projects include the preparation of conservation/heritage studies for the Borough of Queenscliffe, the former City of South Melbourne, the former City of Fitzroy and the former City of Port Melbourne. In addition, I have acted as heritage advisor to the Borough of Queenscliffe and the former City of South Melbourne. In the area of conservation management planning I have been responsible for the preparation of a wide range of conservation analyses and plans including those for the Melbourne Town Hall and Administration Building, the State Library and Museum, the Supreme Court of Victoria, Werribee Park, the Regent Theatre, the Bendigo Post Office, Flinders Street Station, the Old Melbourne Observatory and the Mt Buffalo Chalet. I have been responsible for the preparation of strategic planning reports for Government House, Canberra, the Melbourne Town Hall and the Supreme Court of Victoria. In the area of building conservation works I have been involved in and directly responsible for the investigation, design and documentation of a wide range of projects including the ANZ Gothic Bank at 380 Collins Street, the Collingwood, Melbourne and Fitzroy Town Halls, the Athenaeum and Regent Theatres, Parliament House, Melbourne, Government Houses in Canberra and Perth, and the Supreme Court of Victoria Court of Appeal. I am a member of long standing of the National Trust of Australia (Victoria) and Australia ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites). I am also an honorary fellow of the Royal Australian Institute of Architects. Over the past twenty years I have appeared frequently before the former Historic Buildings Council, now the Victorian Heritage Council, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal and Planning Panels Victoria in relation to the listing of, and works to heritage places. Instructions Verbal instructions were received from Leon Lachal. Lovell Chen involvement My involvement in this project began in December 2017 when Lovell Chen was commissioned to undertake an assessment of the potential heritage significance of the property at 36 Kooyongkoot Road. Preliminary heritage advice was provided to Leon and Susan Lachal in report format in January 2018. The conclusion of the heritage advice was that residence at 36 Kooyongkoot Road is of some historical and architectural interest but does not meet the criteria for local heritage significance for either historical or architectural reasons. LOVELL CHEN 1 Declaration I have made all the inquiries that I believe are desirable and appropriate and no matters of significance which I regard as relevant have to my knowledge been withheld from the Panel. Peter Lovell LOVELL CHEN 2 1.0 Introduction This statement of evidence has been prepared for Leon and Susan Lachal, owners of the property at 36 Kooyongkoot Road, Hawthorn in support of Boroondara Council’s decision not to recommend the property for inclusion in the Schedule to the Heritage Overlay in the Boroondara Planning Scheme (BPS). In 2017 the property at 36 Kooyongkoot Road was identified in the City of Boroondara Municipal-Wide Heritage Gap Study, prepared by Trethowan Architects in association with Context Pty Ltd (the Gap Study). Placed on exhibition in 2017 (amended February 2019) the Gap study recommended inclusion of the subject property in the Schedule to the Heritage Overlay to the BPS. As a consequence of this recommendation further investigation of the property was undertaken by Lovell Chen which established that it had been significantly altered. Council, on further examination of the alterations, determined to remove the property from Amendment C284 and to no longer seek to include 36 Kooyongkoot Road, Hawthorn in the Schedule to Clause 43.01 (Heritage Overlay). The subject property is located on the east side of Kooyongkoot Road, between Crossakiel Court to the north and Callantina Road to the south (Figure 1). The existing building presents as a two-storey interwar Old English style dwelling with clinker brick and imitation half timbering. Figure 1 Locality Plan, Location of 36 Kooyongkoot Road, Hawthorn is indicated by a star Source: http://online.melway.com.au/melway/ 2.0 Amendment C284 Amendment C284 to the Boroondara Planning Scheme seeks to implement the recommendations of the Gap study to introduce the Heritage Overlay on a permanent basis to fourteen (amended to thirteen in the 17 June 2019 version) individual sites and seven heritage precincts, and to extend four existing heritage precincts. In the exhibited documentation, the site was to be identified as HO790 in the Schedule to the Heritage Overlay. The exhibited Schedule does not include recommendations for external paint controls, internal alterations controls or tree controls. It does, however, propose under ‘Fences and Outbuildings’, that the front fence not be exempt under Clause 43.01-4. The exhibited extent of the originally proposed heritage overlay is indicated at Figure 2. Interim controls as per the exhibited documentation have been placed on the site; these expires on 31 March 2020. The Boroondara City Council Website notes that on the 17 June 2019, the Urban Planning Special Committee (UPSC) updated the Hawthorn Heritage Gap Study following public exhibition of Planning Scheme Amendment C284. With a revised version of the Gap study available for download, dated 17 LOVELL CHEN 3 June 2019.1 The revised Gap study and UPSC minutes from the 17 June 2019 meeting proposed that the Heritage Overlay be no longer recommended for 36 Kooyongkoot Road, Hawthorn.2 The officer’s response is noted in the summary of exhibition submissions and as a consequence of that response changes were recommended, as noted in Attachment 1 of the UPSC minutes of Monday 17 June 2019. This states as follows: It was previously considered that while there were changes to the exterior of the building, the overall form of the dwelling is largely intact when viewed from the street, and the dwelling is still recognisable as an English Domestic Revival house. However, access to the balcony has provided an opportunity for Council’s heritage consultant to assess the level of alteration to the principal façade in greater detail. It was confirmed that new windows have been installed into the dormer openings, window breasts removed, timber structure and glass balustrade installed, with alterations to the upper facade proving the most compromising. It is considered that these alterations have significantly diluted the original design and the house no longer meets the threshold of individual significance. Therefore, the property should be removed from the Amendment.3 Contrary to this determination two submissions were received by Council in favour of including 36 Kooyongkoot Road as an individually significant place in the Schedule to the Heritage Overlay. The submitters supported the Heritage Overlay for the following reasons: • The submitters believe that the property is a significant house, and is impressive and significant in its own right. • The house was built by ARP Crow and Sons, who have other significant properties that they built around Melbourne which still standing today, including the Maribyrnong Town Hall and the Rosella Factory in Richmond to name a few. • It was designed by the famous architect Mr John Scarborough who designed the Baillieu Library at Melbourne University and the Littlejohn Memorial Chapel at Scotch College, amongst many other famous buildings including churches and