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The City of Canterbury-Bankstown has a diverse range of heritage items and areas. Most date from the early suburban development of the City from the 1870s until the 1940s.
While most listed items are houses, there is also a variety of other building types and places including commercial buildings, factories, parks, monuments, trees, bridges, and railway stations.
Altogether there are over 200 listed items in Canterbury-Bankstown. There is also the Ashbury Heritage Conservation Area which comprises most of the suburb of Ashbury and part of Croydon Park, and six Heritage Conservation Areas in the suburb of Hurlstone Park.
Council provides a heritage grant fund for owners of heritage listed properties.
A funding round commenced on 2 February 2023 and ends on 26 March 2023.
Council will write to the owners of heritage listed properties advising of the commencement of the funding round.
Section 5.1 of Council's Heritage Incentives Policy provides details of how the fund operates. A copy of the Policy can be accessed by using the link below:
Heritage Incentives Policy
A copy of the funding application form is also attached for those interested in making an application while the funding round is in operation, however, making an application does not mean that the funding will be granted:
Heritage Grant Fund Application Form
'Heritage' can be defined as those things that we as a community want to retain for present and future generations. The Australia ICOMOS Charter for the Conservation of Places of Cultural Significance (the Burra Charter) identifies heritage significance (also known as cultural significance) as:
"aesthetic, historic, scientific, social or spiritual value for past, present or future generations".
These heritage values may be present in a building or a group of buildings, a street, a town, a landscape, an object, or even a place without visible evidence of its past (such as the site of an important historical event).
Age is not a pre-requisite for heritage value. A place has heritage value if it is found to have aesthetic, historic, scientific, social or spiritual value, irrespective of its age.
Before a place is listed as a heritage item, it is first assessed in order to determine its significance. In NSW the seven heritage assessment criteria are:
To be considered a heritage item, a place must fulfil one or more of these criteria.
The main way Council protects heritage is through listing in our Local Environmental Plans (LEPs) – currently Bankstown Local Environmental Plan 2015 and Canterbury Local Environmental Plan 2012. This provides statutory protection for heritage items and areas.
Council can also place an Interim Heritage Order (IHO) over a place that it believes may have heritage value but is not listed in a LEP. This order provides interim protection until the heritage significance of the property has been assessed.
A complete list of heritage items in Canterbury-Bankstown can be found by accessing the button below:
A heritage item is a building or place that is in its own right of individual importance for its historic, aesthetic, social and/or technical value.
Heritage Conservation Areas are places where Council has identified a significant streetscape or broader built environment. In these areas a group of buildings, often combined with an important subdivision pattern, will form a significant townscape or streetscape. A conservation area will usually have a consistent form, scale and architectural character that is considered worthy of protection. Sometimes a conservation area is significant for its diversity and evidence of the changing patterns of development in an area.
Inclusion in a conservation area does not always mean that the streetscape is perfectly formed. There may be elements that are inconsistent. These are known as non-contributory elements.
A common perception of heritage listing is that you can no longer make changes to a property.
This is not correct. Heritage listing or being located in a heritage conservation area does not prevent someone from making changes to a property or undertaking additions or new work. The listing is simply a way to ensure that the new work or new use is compatible with, or complements, the heritage place. Normally making changes to a heritage listed requires development consent.
Minor works and maintenance to heritage items and places within a heritage conservation area may be allowed without the need for development consent. This is provided that the development does not have an adverse impact on heritage significance.
A link to an information sheet providing more detailed information about minor works and maintenance is below:
Heritage minor works and maintenance requests - Information sheet
You will need to submit details of the work and gain written advice from Council before you can proceed, as set out in the information sheet.
If you require any further information please contact our Heritage Adviser on 9707 9000.
Council provides a free Heritage Advisory service to the community. Advice can be provided on the following matters:
All owners of older buildings, not just heritage items, can make use of this service.
Our Heritage Advisor is generally available on Thursdays on 9707 9000.
Other assistance available to owners of heritage listed properties
Council allows the refund waiving of development application fees for heritage listed properties in certain circumstances.
Section 5 3.2 of Council's Heritage Incentives Policy provides details of the fee refund elibbility criteria waivers. A copy of the Policy can be accessed by using the link below:
The NSW Heritage Office also provides incentives for the owners of State heritage listed properties.
More details can be found by accessing the link below:
NSW Heritage Office website
25 October 2021
Please contact Allan Shooter on 9707 5472 if you have any enquiries.
