Penning the path to protect and enhance our City’s heritage

Published on 02 September 2024

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A new strategy to protect, advocate and enhance our community’s heritage that responds to contemporary challenges and new opportunities has now been endorsed.

The Heritage Strategy 2024-34 provides a framework to ensure the City’s rich combination of traditions, memories, places and objects are identified and protected. It will guide Council on heritage matters within the organisation, along with Traditional Custodians, local community organisations and the broader community.

Mayor, Cr Cuc Lam said the endorsed Strategy confirms an updated approach to heritage management in our City that responds to contemporary challenges and new opportunities. This includes a greater focus on partnering and supporting Traditional Custodians to better recognise Aboriginal Cultural Heritage across the municipality, adapting our heritage places for climate resilience and providing sustainable heritage buildings for people to live, work and enjoy, and exploring the use of emerging technologies to raise awareness and appreciation of our City’s heritage

“Throughout this process, Council has remained focused on ensuring the new Strategy best aligns with what our community wants for the future of our City. From the feedback and input, several changes were made, including placing greater emphasis on building community understanding and participation in the conservation, appreciation and enhancement of our City’s heritage, and further recognising the work and role of local heritage organisations,” Mayor Lam said.

The Strategy also includes amendments to actions relating to Aboriginal Cultural Heritage to further strengthen working with Registered Aboriginal Parties (RAPs), as well as their inclusion along with local heritage organisations in the five-year review. Finally – for consistency – the Strategy has consolidated and refined actions relating to similar themes.

The Heritage Strategy and Action Plan includes a series of actions in the short, medium and long-term, to deliver on seven key objectives which include:

  1. To support appropriate protection and adaptation of our heritage places and streetscapes
  2. To support, assist and encourage those who care for and manage heritage places
  3. To demonstrate best practice in care of public heritage places
  4. To build community understanding of our rich and diverse history and heritage and seek active community participation in its conservation, appreciation and enhancement
  5. To continue researching and documenting our rich heritage
  6. To build links and partnerships to ensure a co-ordinated effort in protecting heritage
  7. To build Council’s commitment and capacity to implement the Strategy

Developed over a period of more than two years, the Strategy was informed by a review of the previous plan, input from internal stakeholders, feedback from three rounds of community engagement, and consultation with the Wurundjeri Woi-Wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation and Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation, and local heritage organisations.

View the Heritage Strategy 2024-34 on our website: https://www.maribyrnong.vic.gov.au/files/assets/public/v/1/planning-services-documents/city-design/heritage/heritage-strategy-2024-2034.pdf

 

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