Local Heritage

The Department for Environment and Heritage (DEH) is not responsible for the listing of places or areas of local heritage significance.

The protection of local heritage is dealt with through the Development Act 1993, and local councils are responsible for initiating the statutory process by which a Development Plan is amended to include lists of significant individual places or create heritage areas.

A Development Plan may designate a place as a place of local heritage value if it satisfies one or more of the following criteria (from section 23 (4) of the Development Act 1993):

1. It displays historical, economic or social themes that are of importance to the local area.
2. It represents customs or ways of life that are characteristic of the local area.
3. It has played an important part in the lives of local residents.
4. It displays aesthetic merit, design characteristics or construction techniques of significance to the local area.
5. It is associated with a notable local personality or event.
6. It is a notable landmark in the area.
7. In the case of a tree (without limiting a preceding paragraph) - it is of special historical or social significance or importance within the local area.

The Development Plan amendment process entails the preparation of a Plan Amendment Report (PAR) and includes statutory requirements for consulting the community. If an objection to a heritage listing by a property owner is unresolved through the public consultation process, the Minister for Urban Development and Planning makes a final decision on the advice of the Local Heritage Advisory Committee, which is serviced by Planning SA. (Planning SA is the State agency responsible for overseeing Development Plans and the Minister for Urban Development and Planning is responsible for approving amendments to them.)

Although DEH is not responsible for the process of including places and areas of local heritage value in Development Plans, the agency commissions heritage surveys which usually identify places and areas of both State and local heritage value. These may be used by Councils as the basis for the investigations that form part of a PAR process.

The planning processes for both State and local heritage places are detailed in the Planning Bulletin: Heritage published by Planning SA.

To find out more about the role of local government with regard to heritage see Support for Local Government.