Rewriting history: Whitehorse Council guts heritage plan after locals descend on chamber

“We’re scraping the bottom of the barrel.”

Author

Matthew Sims
June 16, 2026

Fifty Whitehorse properties have been removed from a proposed heritage protection overlay after residents pushed councillors to water down the scheme.

Councillors voted unanimously on Monday to cut dozens of homes and precincts originally flagged for protection. 

The decision followed a two-hour debate in the council chamber on Monday June 1, where residents argued heritage restrictions could limit property values and plans for redevelopment.

📍 What is a heritage overlay? A heritage overlay is a planning control that places extra requirements on changes to a property. Owners may need permits for major works, external alterations and demolition.

  • A draft Heritage Review supplied to council in June 2024 recommended protections for 93 properties, including 47 individual listings and 46 homes across five groups or “precincts”, including a cluster of post-World War II modernist houses in Forest Hill.

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There are still 32 properties on Whitehorse’s list of sites which could potentially become heritage-protected.

🏚️ Home improvements: Councillors instead proposed cutting the list to 39 homes - 28 individual properties and 11 homes across two “precincts”, including a collection of eight Swedish prefabricated houses in Box Hill North.

  • Much of the meeting centred on the overlay, with 19 public speakers addressing councillors.

🛑 Too far? Councillor Blair Barker argued extending protection too broadly would damage public confidence in the council.

  • 🗣️ “We’re scraping the bottom of the barrel,” he said. “We would be effectively destroying someone’s life because they bought that place to build their home.”

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Whitehorse Council considers loosening grip on heritage protections, after couple almost loses hundreds of thousands of dollars of value on their Blackburn South house.

⏭️ What’s next? Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny will consider whether the heritage overlay should apply to the 39 proposed properties, before another round of public consultation and a possible independent panel process.