Whittlesea council has moved to place heritage protection on an important piece of the region’s history so that it can be retained and used into the future.
At the December council meeting, councillors voted to seek ministerial approval to place a heritage overlay on a Victorian villa from circa 1891 at 1470 Plenty Road, Mernda.
The house is known to be one of the first substantial homes built in Mernda following the opening of the Whittlesea railway in 1889.
An independent heritage assessment concluded the house, which was home to Mernda’s first resident doctor, had “particular aesthetic significance as a late Victorian villa”, council said.
Notable features include the ornate rendered chimneys, decorated eaves and small arched niches on the facade.
Council has applied for interim heritage protection to ensure the house is protected while the process to apply permanent heritage controls is undertaken.
Council will also request authorisation from the planning minister to commence a process to apply a permanent heritage overlay on the house and part of the property.
If granted authorisation by the minister, the landholder, residents and other interested parties will have the opportunity to review the heritage overlay proposal and make submissions to council.
Mayor Aidan McLindon said it was important council celebrated its built heritage and integrated these significant places into future neighbourhoods.
“Over the years this house has been home to Mernda’s earliest medical figures and later served as the Mernda Methodist Church’s first parsonage from about 1918 until 1977,” he said.
“To protect that significant piece of cultural history is important for our future communities and that is why council voted to pursue a heritage overlay over this significant house.”
