A Heritage Overlay or HO is one of a number of

planning scheme overlay Planning is the process of thinking regarding the activities required to achieve a desired goal. Planning is based on foresight, the fundamental capacity for mental time travel. The evolution of forethought, the capacity to think ahead, is consi ...

s contained in the

Victorian Planning Provisions Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...

, for use in

planning scheme Planning is the process of thinking regarding the activities required to achieve a desired goal. Planning is based on foresight, the fundamental capacity for mental time travel. The evolution of forethought, the capacity to think ahead, is consi ...

s in Victoria, Australia. The heritage overlay schedule of each

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loc ...

planning scheme lists sites of local and state significance (

Victorian Heritage Register The Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) lists places deemed to be of cultural heritage significance to the State of Victoria, Australia. It has statutory weight under the Heritage Act 2017. The Minister for Planning is the responsible Minister. ...

) but does not include sites on the Australian National Heritage List. The Heritage Overlay is used to protect sites that have

heritage Heritage may refer to: History and society * A heritage asset is a preexisting thing of value today ** Cultural heritage is created by humans ** Natural heritage is not * Heritage language Biology * Heredity, biological inheritance of physical c ...

value, meaning that individual buildings or whole urban precincts may be covered. The protection afforded by a Heritage Overlay varies in each instance, though the controls apply to built structures and their associated land. The minimum level of protection is afforded by the mere existence of the overlay and means that any work at all to the building or site will require a

planning permit Planning is the process of thinking regarding the activities required to achieve a desired goal. Planning is based on foresight, the fundamental capacity for mental time travel. The evolution of forethought, the capacity to think ahead, is consi ...

, ensuring that a higher level of scrutiny automatically occurs, regardless of any specific control measures cited. Exemptions from permits can be achieved via a site specific exclusion or an incorporated plan listed in the schedule to the overlay. Each planning scheme will have a set of maps which indicate the location of overlay controls. Associated with the maps is a schedule listing every individual overlay in that planning scheme according to the following criteria: * Planning Scheme map reference (HO+number) * Address of building or name of precinct * External paint controls * Internal alteration controls * Tree controls * Exemptions for certain outbuildings or fencing * Victorian Heritage Register listing * Prohibitions on uses * Reference to other parts of the Planning Scheme * Aboriginal heritage An easy to follow description of how to read a heritage overlay and the different related documents is found at th
City of Ballarat Website - What is a Heritage Overlay

References

Heritage Victoria website

City of Ballarat - What is a Heritage Overlay

City of Ballarat - How do you read the Heritage Overlay

Heritage Overlay Provisions at Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment
Historic preservation {{VictoriaAU-stub

See also

References