Posts Tagged ‘city of port phillip’

Former Danish Club at 177 Beaconsfield Parade before demolition began

The spectacular classical architecture of the Danish Club at 177 Beaconsf

ield Parade has been reduced to a facade held up tenuously by scaffolding.

Last year the Danish club was bought by a private owner Australia’s richest woman.  No sooner had the building been purchased than an applica

tion for a permit to turn it into the Bayside equivalent of a Toorak mansion was made.  The application which was approved by Port Phillip Council shortly after read:

“partial demolition, alterations and additions including restoration of facade including reinstatement of open air balconies, demolition of the Sport Centre and bar/lounge addition with external landscaping including outdoor terrace, swimming pool, two storey yog

a pavilion and studio and removal of two vehicle crossovers”

Scaffolding masks the skeletal remains of the landmark Danish Club. Construction is rising up behind on 18th November.

Somehow this misleading description became case of almost complete demolition than a renovation.  It seems that when you feel the urge to build a yoga pavilion that big, you might just take out a few heritage buildings along the way.

In any case the facade is exactly all that remains to restore.  Nothing survives of the interior, the roof or chimneys of the heritage building and just over two walls of the building remain as an empty open ghostly shell …

While the club’s interiors had experienced remodeling in the past, it has certainly never in its history been gutted to this extent and has remained one of Port Phillips largest and most impressive classical buildings sitting smack bang in one of the council’s most important heritage overlays.

It appears that the City of Port Phillip have not learned that keeping just the facade and excavating around it can be risky business, with several heritage buildings requiring complete reconstruction after this method went horribly wrong.

Lets hope this magnificent facade survives the ordeal and that a decent outcome is achieved for this Middle Park landmark ….

An interwar late 1930s building in a heritage overlay is to make way for a five storey $17 million social inclusion centre and low cost housing in St Kilda.  The single storey Tudorbethan at 101 Carlisle Street features two prominent brick banded gables facing Chapel Street.  According to the Port Phillip Leader (October 27) the demolition of the heritage building on the south western corner of Chapel and Carlisle has received support from Port Phillip Council and the state government.

Carlisle Street, one of St Kilda’s famous heritage streets has been designated an Activity Centre under the Melbourne 2030 planning policy which will see its heritage buildings increasingly replaced and dominated by taller towers.

The heritage building was described as “hopelessly inadequate” by the Uniting Church who own the land.

The new building will dominate the corner, towering over neighbouring the Uniting Church.

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205 Beaconsfield Parade from realestateview.com.au

Reported in the Emerald Hill Weekly a two storey block of interwar art deco flats at 205 Beaconsfield Parade in Middle Park has been saved from demolition to build a plain four storey apartment tower.

Beaconsfield Parade’s picturesque heritage strip which consists a great many Victorian era mansions, terraces and Interwar flats is rapidly being eroded by overdevelopment.  The council and residents fought this development in a bid to protect and maintain the character of Port Phillip’s beachfront.

While certainly not outstanding, the  1920s flat design is interesting due to its design in that it mimics the overall form of a Georgian mansion with its pitch roof, chimneys and protruding central bay but uses striking streamline moderne style parallel bands for horizontal emphasis, but with wide modern style windows.  Its position on a prominent corner with uninterrupted sea views with a vacant block next door gives it a landmark quality, but also obviously makes it prime real estate.

The developer’s application to demolish was taken all the way to the state tribunal but unlike many others this time failed in its bid.

While recent state government planning powers are denying local councils control over heritage it is good to see some councils take the opportunity to commission updated heritage studies in a bid to protect their places of cultural significance.

Several of Melbourne’s local government areas have recently announced or completed heritage studies, so I though it was worth doing a quick report card for the decade of the 2000s.

These heritage studies are imperative in ensuring that the heritage overlays of local councils are up-to-date.  They offer the only real protection to buildings aside from the legal protection offered by the Victorian Heritage Register.  As factors regarding heritage do change, Melbourne rapidly grows and resources are invariably limited, local government heritage studies should be conducted at least once a decade in my opinion.

City of Melbourne

Along overdue and much needed major study has been announced.  The last major study was done in the early 1980s.  In recent years the National Trust has openly pleaded with the council to update its records.  Nonetheless, the lack of a study has seen the loss of several buildings of local significance in recent years, vindicating the Trust’s push and highlighting the urgent need for councils to update them.  Not suprisingly backlash from laneway developments including the demolition of the Eastern Arcade and Lonsdale House has led to a key the focus being on preserving Melbourne’s laneways.  However commencement has not been announced and implementation of any findings may be years away.

Moreland City Council

On Melbourne’s northern fringe, Moreland is currently inviting the public to nominate buildings as part of its “North of Bell Street” study which closes 31 October 2009.

Banyule City Council

In March, Banyule a municipality in Melbourne’s northern suburbs around Heidelberg announced a major review of its 1998 heritage study.  The council has set up a page on its website for the Banyule Heritage Review Project.

City of Stonnington

Stonnington in Melbourne’s inner south east Recently released its Heritage Precinct  Gap Study which began in 2006.

Hobsons Bay City Council

Hobson’s Bay’s 2006 study was completed recently in the Melbourne’s inner west and its resulting inventory of heritage places has recently become searchable via the Victorian Heritage Register online.

Bayside City Council

A recently concluded Inter-War and Post-War Heritage Study study begun in 2008 by Bayside Council in Melbourne’s bayside southern suburbs which nominated many postwar homes however its initiative received backlash from residents.

Brimbank City Council

Brimbank council in Melbourne’s north west implemented a “Post-contact Cultural Heritage Study and Amendment” which was approved in 2007.

Shire of Cardinia

The Shire of Cardinia on Melbourne’s outskirts also conducted a major review in 2007.

City of Darebin

Darebin around Northcote and Preston conducted a review in 2007 focusing mainly on indigenous heritage, archeology and gaps in previous heritage studies.

City of Moonee Valley

Mooney Valley around Moonee Ponds released a review in 2007.

City of Kingston

Kingston completed its latest major heritage review in 2006.

City of Manningham

The City of Manningham around Doncaster area also conducted a major review in 2006.

Shire of Nillumbik

The Shire of Nillumbik representing the fringe area and townships around Greensborough released a heritage report as recently as 2006.

City of Port Phillip

The City of Port Phillip completed its East St Kilda (2004) and Elwood (2005) heritage studies some time ago.

City of Yarra

City of Yarra completed a significant heritage study in 2004.

City of Hume

The City of Hume commissioned a heritage study in 2003 which was released in 2004.

City of Whitehorse

The council representing the area around Box Hill completed their latest heritage study in 2003.

City of Maroondah

Maroondah in the Ringwood area produced a heritage study in 2003.

Councils with notably out of date Heritage Controls

The City of Melbourne (1982) is by far the grandaddy of them all in terms of unacceptably old heritage controls with the longest drought in heritage studies, however other councils that are notably behind include: Knox (1993); Frankston (1995-1997);  Wyndham (1997); Casey (1998);  Glen Eira (1999);  Greater Dandenong (1999-2000); Yarra Ranges (2000) and City of Monash (2000).

Apart from Glen Eira and Monash these councils are mostly on the metropolitan fringe.  Areas such as the urban fringe where there is little perceived heritage are possibly the most vulnerable – particularly those like Dandenong and Frankston which are designated as Major Activity Centres under the Melbourne 2030 and more recently Melbourne @ 5 million planning policies.

Red Telephone Boxes outside South Melbourne Post Office removed by Telstra (photo from "My Daily Melbourne" used with permission)

Melburnians could be forgiven for wanting to travel back in time to see the distinctive 1920s red telephone boxes once again parked outside of the South Melbourne Town Hall precinct.

While there are thousands of the distinct red telephone boxes across the UK dating back to 1924 with most in London in Australia they were not as common.

In fact Melbourne had most of the few to be found here.   While most of them are now gone, some areas had retained their red telephone boxes.  One such area is South Melbourne, with its historic Victorian precinct featuring Town Hall, Police Station, Post Office and other municipal buildings in a small square being the perfect setting.  With the phone boxes you could imagine you were standing in an English town.  In fact South Melbourne’s town square was part of a heritage overlay that prevented the removal or modification of any features includes the boxes.

But that didn’t stop the Indian giving corporate nasties at Telstra removing them after first promising to sell the boxes to Port Phillip Council before changing their mind and recently breaking local laws to replace them with completely out of context modern booths …. cultural robbery and a real shame.