Thank you to everyone who took the time to review and provide feedback on the Draft Heritage Design Guidelines. The guidelines were open for community feedback from November 3 to December 1, 2025. During this time, we heard from members of the community through the Let’s Talk page, drop-in information sessions, and a written submission. Your feedback is now being reviewed and will help inform the final version of the guidelines.

• Clarity and accessibility: Several appreciated that the guidelines were easy to understand for both professionals and the general community. There was a suggestion to avoid adding excessive detail that could confuse property owners.

• Demolition by neglect: Strong support was expressed for addressing demolition by neglect. Suggestions included conducting regular inspections of unoccupied heritage buildings and financial support for owners to maintain heritage properties.

• Document navigation and expanded content: Recommendations included linking section headings in the Table of Contents and adding captions. Suggestions were made to provide useful links to resources such as the Victorian Heritage Register and City’s Heritage Policy.

• Additional guidance and resources: Recommended listing qualified heritage professionals and clarifying demolition assessment processes.

• Language and clarity: Some wording changes were suggested to avoid confusion and clarifying terms to include historic gardens and heritage flora.

The feedback received will be carefully considered as we finalise the Heritage Design Guidelines. We will report the feedback received and share the final guidelines at a future Council meeting. The final adopted report will then be made publicly available.

Once adopted by Council, the guidelines will be implemented via a planning scheme amendment to make the recommended changes to the Greater Bendigo Planning Scheme.