VICTORIA’S planning tribunal has backed Hobsons Bay Council in refusing to allow the demolition of Newport Masonic Temple, stating the poor condition of the building does not justify a wrecking ball.
As reported by the Weekly in April, the council refused a bid to build a four-storey apartment block with retail space on the ground floor
A special planning committee of the council unanimously rejected an application from Trethowan Architecture to demolish all but the facade of the 1924 building at 405 Melbourne Road.
Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal member Rachel Naylor has upheld that decision, noting the temple is recognised as “a historic landmark building where significant vistas to it along Melbourne Road remain”.
She placed “limited weight” on expert heritage evidence from architect Bruce Trethowan, saying he was not an independent witness as he had signed the permit application form.
Ms Naylor said the merits of demolishing parts of the neo-Grecian building should not be influenced by any inference that the building would continue to decay.
“One would hope that an owner of an individually significant heritage building would seek to maintain it to the best of its abilities,” she said.
“Further, it must be remembered that one of the demolition policies in the heritage local planning policy states the poor condition or low integrity of a heritage place will generally not be accepted as justification for its demolition.”
Heritage controls were applied by Hobsons Bay Council in 2006 to the temple’s interior and exterior.
