š Holy heritage and outdoor dining's final days
Also including: Live music events across Melbourne's eastern suburbs this November
Matthew Sims
October 31, 2025
ā±ļø The 89th edition of our newsletter is a seven-minute read.
Hi there š
Matthew Sims here, your reporter at the Eastern Melburnian.
I hope youāve all been making the most of this warmer weather ā I know I have. Iāve been tending to my new herb garden and have a few looking almost ready to pick. I think theyāre maybe parsley and dill, but I guess the taste test is the ultimate confirmation. Let me know what youāre getting up to as the sun sets or shoot me a photo of the nicest sunset youāve seen lately.
šļø In terms of recent news across the east, I jumped into a bit of an unusual yarn involving the sale of a church in Nunawading and the hidden heritage protections the sale highlighted.
āŖļø Basically, the Uniting Church Australia Property Trust engaged an agent to sell the 65-year-old church on Whitehorse Road, near the intersection with Springvale Road. However, only a month ago, they realised the building was listed as a priority for protection under a draft heritage plan for Whitehorse Council.
When council officers heard about the sale, they quickly got to work to develop a motion to introduce temporary controls to ensure that whoever would buy the building wouldnāt be able to seek any changes to its structure or facade.
ā ā Depending on which side you sit on in terms of protecting old buildings, common sense prevailed or developers won, with council instead moving a motion to scrap any heritage protections on the building now and into the future.
š I filmed a video at the site on Wednesday and it was very beautiful, especially with its stained glass windows. Hopefully, the new owner is a religious organisation that can continue to use the building as a church and would only minimally change the look of the building.
š° In other news, despite Knox Council staff wanting to wash their hands of the drama surrounding the three remaining Knox Councilās outdoor dining parklets installed during the Covid pandemic ā asking councillors to vote to remove them. Councillors instead delayed any removal of these dining patios on parking spaces until March at the earliest.
ā¤ļø Personally, I would love for more outdoor dining options to be available to bring a more open feel to local strips like Bayswater or Boronia. However, the non-compliance issues highlighted in these parklets show that rushing their construction is not the way.
Iām looking forward to seeing Knox Councilās new outdoor dining policy, coming next year. And hopefully, these five businesses can work together to retain as much of their current structures as possible.
šļø Hereās what else the Eastern Melburnian has been up to:
Five venues across Knox have until February 27 at the latest to carry out any statutory requirements, at their own cost, to secure the future of outdoor dining parklets outside of their business.
The one thing you gotta know ā
WHATāS ON THIS WEEK šļø
FRIDAY 31/10/25 & SATURDAY 01/11/25, 5-10PM | Haunted Theatre @ Knox Community Arts Centre
FRIDAY 31/10/25, 4.30-7.30PM | Halloween @ Wyreena
š° THIS WEEKāS HEADLINES
Knox Council has voted to delay the removal of ānon-compliantā outdoor dining parklets, which were introduced during the stateās Covid hospitality recovery.
Despite local support for a number of parklets in the area, one local business owner says they wonāt be able to afford the cost of seeking updated permits for the space.
A parklet is a space made from parking bays for temporary use, commonly for outdoor dining, vegetation or extra seating.
Knox Council delivered a number of outdoor dining parklets across a number of hospitality venues as part of the State Governmentās Outdoor Eating and Entertainment Package during the Covid pandemic.
On Monday night, council staff recommended councillors approve a motion to remove three outdoor dining parklets servicing five venues in Ferntree Gully, Wantirna South and Bayswater.
Councillors went back and forth discussing alternatives before finally settling on a motion which would see the deadline for the remaining parklets extended until March 1 2026 to allow the proprietors to apply for outdoor dining permits and enter into licensing agreements.
This could also be extended to June 1 if the proprietors have applied for a permit by February 27.
Work carried out by council staff discovered a number of issues with the parklets, including structural and non-compliance breaches, complex land ownership and licensing agreements.
Knox Council has received a petition with more than 100 signatures in support of the parklet at Paddyās Tavern and ItalianIssimo, arguing the removal of the structure would ānegatively impact the experience of customersā.
Speaking to the Eastern Melburnian, Schokolade Cafe owner Justine Salanitri said the community support for keeping the parklet had been āoverwhelmingā, with a petition attracting more than 700 signatures.
According to council documents, full costs for operating a new parklet at the Studfield location were unknown but would include costs to obtain a Traffic Management Plan, a Road Safety Audit, administrative fees from the council and the construction of a new parklet structure.
Salanitri said she was keen to keep the structure as it provides extra undercover seating for patrons, but that she didnāt think they were āgoing to be able to afford (the costs of securing a new permit and constructing a new space) as a small businessā.
Council officers are now looking towards providing a report on how to implement a Knox-wide outdoor dining policy to outline future applications for new structures.
Bayswater MP Jackson Taylor has since been in contact with Schokolade Cafe and the council to offer any help needed in seeking the necessary permit.
Imagine trying to sell a church and accidentally starting a full-blown heritage war.
Thatās exactly whatās happening as part of the sale process at the Whitehorse Uniting Church in Nunawading ā and it all blew up at a Whitehorse Council meeting this week.
Hereās the story.
SEEN THIS WEEK š¤
āļø A BOM blunder
After a weekend of severe weather across Victoria and Queensland, the Bureauās redesigned website has continued to attract criticism from across the political spectrum.
Archie Milligan at The National Account took a quick look at the fallout.
Nationals Leader David Littleproud said locals in his regional Queensland electorate of Maranoa can no longer enter GPS coordinates for their specific properties, with searches now limited to towns or postcodes.
āAs a result, families, businesses and farmers are unable to access vital, localised data such as river heights and rainfall information,ā he said.
Environment Minister Murray Watt conceded the overhaul has fallen short of expectations and said he had spoken with the Bureauās acting chief executive, Peter Stone, about fixing the issues as soon as possible.
Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen agreed, saying the website clearly is not up to scratch.
āThe Bureau has work to do. It has lost community confidence in the new website. Minister Watt has made his expectations clear,ā Bowen said.
Novemberās best live music events in Melbourneās eastern suburbs
From a comedy character tickling the ivories to one of the countryās best Indigenous storytellers, here are some of the gigs across Melbourneās eastern suburbs in November.
Like the look of our live music guide but think weāve missed something? Let us know and send an email to [email protected]
What can you buy at Heide Makers' Market?
The Heide Makers' Market is held on the second Saturday of each month from 10am to 3pm at 7 Templestowe Road in Bulleen.
Contributor Natasha Richards went along to the Heide Makers Market recently to see what sort of goodies were available.
The next market will be held from 10am to 3pm on Saturday November 8.
Watch the video from her trip below.
Thanks for catching up with us this week at the Eastern Melburnian. We hope you enjoyed this issue, and weād love to hear your thoughts. Weāll be back next week to shine a spotlight on the under-reported issues in our patch, so stay tuned!
Cheers,
Matthew and the Eastern Melburnian team