Protection & Conservation

Overview

Goolwa State Heritage Area

South Australia has 17 State Heritage Areas, representing significant aspects of the State's rich natural and cultural heritage. They are recognised for their contributions to South Australia's development, for their natural beauty, for their architectural merits and for their historical use. The character of these Areas contributes significantly to the lifestyles of the people who live and work in them, and enhances the experiences of tourists and other visitors.

But, State Heritage Areas are neither time capsules nor 'museum' environments, and are subject to pressures for development and change. They are suburbs, towns, pastoral properties, tourist destinations or recreational venues. They contain homes, shops, offices, industries or parks and need to offer the modern facilities of the twenty-first century.

So, successful conservation of State Heritage Areas requires balance and compromise - management that is sensitive to the Area's heritage significance, but also to the ongoing needs of the people associated with the place.

Legislation and other conservation measures are not tactics to prevent change, but rather strategies to achieve responsible stewardship and to ensure that the Area's heritage character is not lost through uncontrolled development.

Conservation

Penola (Petticoat Lane/WoodsMacKillop Schoolhouse) State Heritage Area

Within the context of the Burra Charter 'conservation' is the umbrella term for all the practices of caring for a heritage place. It may refer to simple maintenance or to more complicated processes, such as restoration, reconstruction or adaptive reuse.

Conservation work is generally concerned with protecting the significant fabric of a place, while maintaining its usefulness in modern society. Because each place is different, a variety of conservation techniques and approaches are appropriate. Refer to:

• Heritage Information Leaflet 1.2 - Guidelines to Approaches for Conserving Heritage Places and
• Heritage Information Leaflet 1.3 - Planning for Conservation Management

Legislation

Two specific pieces of legislation - the Heritage Places Act 1993 and the Development Act 1993 - guide the identification, registration and conservation of South Australia's State Heritage Places, including places within State Heritage Areas. Summaries of both Acts are provided in leaflets produced by the Department for Environment and Heritage

• Heritage Information Leaflet 1.5 - Summary of the Heritage Places Act 1993
• Heritage Information Leaflet 1.6 - Summary of the Development Act 1993

Innamincka/Cooper Creek State Heritage Area

Because of the variety of South Australia's State Heritage Areas, other types of legislation may also influence what can occur within them. The National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972, for example, guides activities within the Innamincka Regional Reserve or Belair National Park, while the Pastoral Land Management and Conservation Act 1989 relates to the Arckaringa Hills State Heritage Area. Other legislation, such as the Mining Act 1971 or the Native Vegetation Act 1991, can also impact on any activities within State Heritage Areas.

'Development' in State Heritage Areas

The information below provides only a brief summary of the approval process for any development in a State Heritage Area. Anyone undertaking any form of development in or near a State Heritage Area should seek more specific information from the relevant authorities, such as local council, Planning SA or the Department for Environment and Heritage (Heritage Branch).

Under the Development Act 1993 all development throughout the State requires approval through the development application process.

'Development' generally refers only to building work, land use or land division but, when a State Heritage Area is created, amendments are made to zoning and planning policies for that area, and the definition of 'development' is expanded to also mean

"the demolition, removal, conversion, alteration or painting of, or addition to, the place, or any other work that could materially affect the heritage value of the place."

Gawler Church Hill State Heritage Area

This means that, in a State Heritage Area, a development application is required for some activities that would not otherwise be classed as development. For example, a fence not exceeding two metres in height, a pergola, or a retaining wall less than one metre high are not usually considered 'development', but in a State Heritage Area those additions do require planning approval.

In State Heritage Areas ongoing maintenance can be undertaken provided that it does not alter the fabric of a structure. For owners of residential properties, for example, this means that activities such as external painting or re-roofing require planning approval, as the wrong choice of material, colour or fixing may have a detrimental effect on the Area's character and significance.

For any development in a State Heritage Area, the relevant planning authority must seek advice from the Minister for Environment and Conservation (through the Department for Environment and Heritage), if the development proposal directly affects the State Heritage Area or materially affects the context within which the State Heritage Area is situated (known as 'development affecting').

These controls are not meant to stop development, but rather to ensure that new building work is undertaken in a way that is sympathetic to the heritage significance of the Area.

Role of the Heritage Branch
Department for Environment and Heritage

The Heritage Branch administers the South Australian Heritage Register, manages the South Australian Heritage Fund and provides advice on heritage matters to the Minister for Environment and Conservation.

It also manages a heritage survey and assessment program, provides advice to State Government and local councils on development proposals affecting State Heritage Places or State Heritage Areas, provides information and conservation advice to owners and occupiers of heritage places, and maintains a publications/community awareness program.

Conservation advice

Heritage Branch staff (and appointed local heritage advisers), on behalf of the Minister for Environment and Conservation, provide extensive conservation advice to councils, planning authorities, owners and the general community. Considerable advice is also provided through publications.

Development advice

The Development Act 1993 requires all development applications affecting State Heritage Places and State Heritage Areas to be referred to the Minister responsible for the Heritage Places Act 1993. Heritage Branch conservation architects (and appointed local heritage advisers) advise the Minister, and generally act as the Minister's delegates, regarding comments and approvals for development applications affecting heritage places.

Burra State Heritage Area

Grants

Through the South Australian Heritage Fund Grants Program the Heritage Branch offers funds to assist in the care and conservation of places entered in the South Australian Heritage Register or located within State Heritage Areas.

Heritage Advisers

Heritage Advisers are jointly funded by the Department for Environment and Heritage and local councils to provide free professional advice to owners of State Heritage-listed properties or places within State Heritage Areas. They are available for many regions of South Australia and can be contacted through local council offices.

For further information about Heritage Advisers in specific State Heritage Areas contact the Heritage Branch, DEH or view the Heritage Advisory Service web page.