The New South Wales government has launched its first heritage strategy, aiming to streamline the approvals process for the adaptive reuse of heritage buildings and recognise more diverse historical items and places.
According to the government, the strategy outlines a five-year vision for creating “a stronger and more inclusive heritage system.” Under the plan, the heritage approvals process will be streamlined, making it easier to gain approval for updating and adaptively reusing heritage buildings for new uses, such as housing. At the same time, it will introduce a new Heritage Act that delivers harsher penalties for owners who allow heritage properties to fall into disrepair.
More diverse heritage items will also be protected on the State Heritage Register, said the government. A new program will be established to recognise intangible heritage not tied to physical items or places, with the government to partner with Aboriginal communities to support truth-telling and improve recognition of significant heritage. It will also explore long-term heritage funding models to enable proactive heritage management.
Minister for Heritage Penny Sharpe said the strategy outlines a clear plan to recognise the diversity of its history while positioning heritage as “part of the housing solution” through greater activation and adaptive reuse.
“Bringing our heritage system up to date means we can recognise and protect our history in ways that speak to our current communities and reflect our many perspectives on the past,” said Sharpe.
“This strategy is about making recognition of heritage fairer and faster, supported by modern legislation that protects our past and delivers firm compliance when properties are neglected.”
The government notes that the strategy is the result of two years of consultation with more than 1,750 people and organisations, including the general public, academics, advocacy groups, councils, committees, planning and property consultants and government agencies. It was guided by a set of principles that position Aboriginal cultural heritage as the living foundation of heritage in NSW, while emphasising diversity of heritage, community input on heritage significance, and the need for innovation and change in heritage practice.
The strategy was built around three key objectives: to better reflect the state’s diverse heritage, streamline what can be a complex heritage system and provide better support to the owners and custodians responsible for manage heritage items and places.
Implementation of the strategy will take place over five years, with progress reviews to occur regularly and outcomes to be reported on the NSW government website.
Source: Architecture - architectureau
