Heritage

Heritage consists of the places and objects that we have inherited from the past and that we want to pass on to future generations. Under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979, Council has responsibility for identifying the area’s heritage assets and protecting them through environmental planning instruments.

Heritage Listings and Development
Development Control and Heritage Conservation Area
Heritage Items
Work that does not require development consent
Financial Assistance and Grants for Heritage Buildings
Heritage Advisory Service
Local Heritage Groups
Aboriginal Heritage Study

Heritage Conservation

Heritage Listings and Development

A Heritage Conservation Area is an area containing many different elements which collectively have heritage significance. It is an area in which its historical origins and contributory elements create a sense of place that the community values.
To check whether your property is located within a Heritage Conservation Area, search Schedule 5 of Moree Plains Local Environmental Plan 2011, apply for a Planning Certificate or contact Councils Planning Team for advice.

Development Control and Heritage Conservation Area

The Moree Plains Development Control Plan (DCP) 2013 chapter 7 – Heritage Conservation Area Shopfront and Façade Policy applies to development that is situated on land within a heritage conservation area. This chapter Supplements the provisions of the Moree Plains LEP 2011, Describes the heritage significance of the Conservation Area, i.e. why the area is culturally important, Identifies the contributory criteria which contribute to the area’s distinctive identity and sense of place and Provides conservation guidelines to ensure development is sympathetic to the cultural heritage significance of the conservation area and ensure the conservation of individual heritage items identified in the Moree Plains Local Environmental Plan 2011.

Heritage Items

A heritage item is defined as a building, work, archaeological site, tree or place that has heritage significance. Heritage items can be built or natural forms, archaeological or maritime heritage, movable heritage or items/sites that are significant to Aboriginal people.
There are 29 heritage items and 11 identified archaeological sites in the LEP 2011.
To check whether your property is a heritage item, search Schedule 5 of Moree Plains Local Environmental Plan 2011, apply for a Planning Certificate or contact Councils Planning Section for advice.
Please visit the NSW Office of Environment & Heritage to search for inventories for Moree Plain’s listed placed.

Development Consents and Heritage Items

A heritage listing does not mean that properties or buildings cannot be modernised, altered or developed. Changes may still be made, but must have regard to the site’s heritage significance.
Any new work should be undertaken in an appropriate or ‘sympathetic’ way. For example, where possible, a sympathetic addition to a heritage item should retain the original features. New work should not necessarily try to look ‘old’ or copy the architectural detail of the original building, but rather complement the overall building form, scale, materials and finishes.
Properties near heritage items often form a significant part of the setting of the heritage item. Development near heritage items may be required to minimise any impact on the heritage property in terms of architectural style, scale, setbacks, external materials, finishes and colours.

Work that does not require development consent

If Council determines the proposed development is of a minor nature or consists of maintenance of the heritage item and would not adversely affect its heritage significance or impact Heritage Conservation Area.
If this is the case, the proponent must notify the consent authority in writing of the proposed development. The consent authority must have then advised the applicant in writing that it is satisfied that the proposed development consent is not otherwise required, before any work can be carried out.

Examples of work that requires development consent:

• Demolition of a heritage item;
• Altering a heritage item by making structural changes to its interior;
• Altering a heritage item by making structural or non-structural changes to the detail, fabric, finish or appearance of its exterior. The exception being changes resulting from any maintenance necessary for its ongoing protective care which does not adversely affect its heritage significance, that have been authorised in writing by Council;
• Erecting a building within a heritage conservation area;
• Subdividing land on which a heritage item is located or that is within a heritage conservation area; and
• Moving the whole or part of a heritage item.

Financial Assistance and Grants for Heritage Buildings

Each year, Moree Plains Shire Council with assistance from the Heritage Branch of the Office of Environment and Heritage, offers small grants to property owners for maintenance works on older buildings in the local government area.
This grant funding is used as an incentive to assist property owners of heritage listed items that are identified in the Moree Plains Local Environmental Plan 2011 and encourage as much positive work on heritage items in the area as possible.

Projects funded through this program may include (and not be limited to): conservation works and maintenance works projects; adaptive reuse projects; urban design projects that support heritage; interpretation projects; and conservation management plans.

Projects that are normally funded include:
• Repairing walls, verandahs, windows or roof plumbing on older buildings,
• Repairing or reconstructing traditional front fences or other boundary work to protect older houses or sites, and
• Repairing and conserving older buildings, historic remnants or grave sites.

Heritage Advisory Service

Moree Plains Shire Council appointed a Heritage Advisory in 2004 to assist both Council and residents in the conservation and management of heritage listed items. The Heritage Advisory Service can provide preliminary advice to applicants and property owners in the LGA on heritage matters and assist with heritage related development applications. This service is generally free. Council’s Heritage Advisor visits once every second month.

Advice can include information on: renovation, redevelopment, colour schemes, extensions, verandahs, awnings and fences as well as more comprehensive advice on the integration of new development in older or conservation areas.
Council's Heritage Advisor also includes (but not limited to) the following services:
• Work with Council to develop and deliver a heritage strategy.
• Ensure effective statutory management of heritage and provide advice to Council on Development Applications, Part 5 Applications and Planning Proposals involving heritage items draft/potential heritage items and Heritage Conservation Areas;
• Provide professional advice to the community on heritage related issues and work with key stakeholder groups;
• Initiate research and studies for improved heritage management and produce heritage reports and other heritage documentation as required;
• Promote incentives, including grants and funding for heritage;
• Assist Council in managing its heritage assets; and
• Establish, in consultation with the local library and historical society, the collection of heritage resource material, including photographs, to assist heritage management and promotion in the area.

Local Heritage Groups

Local historical organisations can be contacted:
Gwydir Family History Society Inc
The Society (founded in May 1984) aims to foster and promote family history by providing resources to this end and to assist others in their search for their ancestry. The Society meets at the Northern Regional Library in Balo Street, Moree, and has use of the Genealogy/Local History Room there for their records and research.

Aboriginal Heritage Study

The redrafting of Council’s Local Environmental Plan (LEP) was aimed to ensure compatibility and consistency with the standard Instrument (Local Environmental Plan) Order 2006. The rewriting of the LEP was aimed to give effect of the Aboriginal Heritage Study. The study area comprises the Moree Plains Local Government Area located in north west of NSW. Aboriginal cultural heritage in Australia is protected and managed under a variety of legislations. This policy:
• identifies the methodology employed to undertake this study and acknowledges the contribution of Aboriginal stakeholders and input of Moree Plains Shire Council planning officers,
• outlines the legislative framework for the conservation and management of Aboriginal cultural heritage,
• describes the Aboriginal stakeholder consultation process and identifies the stakeholders involved and/or consulted,
• describes the environmental setting of the Moree Plains LGA as a basis for understanding the context of recorded and potential archaeological sites and places that hold cultural values to the Aboriginal communities within the LGA.
• provides a summary of the archaeological record and provides a predictive model for the landscape types present in the LGA.
• provides a summary of the procedure for the assessment of cultural significance. Places and items nominated for listing have been assessed in this section according to assessment criteria.
• provides an outline of the conservation management approach it they relate to the Aboriginal cultural heritage of the Moree Plains LGA.
• provides an overview of the principles guiding the management of Aboriginal cultural heritage and provides the framework for the management and conservation of these values.