FAQs

Heritage is what we inherit from previous generations and recognise as something that we want to pass on to future generations. Heritage helps us to understand the story of both Western Australia and the local community – our history, identity, and diversity.

Heritage is wide-ranging and consists of buildings, structures, gardens, cemeteries, landscapes, heritage areas, shipwrecks and archaeological sites. We want to protect and pass on significant examples of these places to future generations so they will be able to enjoy a rich and diverse cultural environment and understand what came before them. As heritage is not only about individual buildings, we use the term ‘heritage place’.

A Local Heritage Survey (previously called a Municipal Heritage Inventory) is a list of places which, in the opinion of the City, are, or may become, places of cultural heritage significance to the local community. The Heritage Act 2018 requires all local government authorities in Western Australia to survey all places in regard to heritage, and to periodically update that survey.

If a place appears on the LHS, there is no change to the normal development processes and requirements as the LHS does not have a statutory implications for planning and development.

The City of Vincent Heritage List (which also serves as its Municipal Heritage Inventory) exists pursuant to the Planning and Development (Local Planning Schemes) Regulations 2015 and provides statutory protection for heritage places. 

Under State law every local government authority is required to complete and keep under review a Municipal Heritage Inventory (MHI). The MHI is a document that records places in our City that have cultural heritage value and explains why these places are special.

The City of Vincent Local History Centre offers resources and services to help you explore these questions. These include:

• photographs from the Local History Library
• maps, plans and posters
• street files and directories
• suburb histories.

You can visit the centre between 9am and 1pm or book an appointment between 2 and 4pm, Monday to Friday for help to research a place.

Other resources include:

• Trove for archived copies of local papers, clippings and get assistance searching historic papers.
• State Records Office for access to detailed maps and plans of specific areas as well as archival records on suburb development.
• Registry of Births, Deaths & Marriages for basic in about people who may have lived of owned a place.

Cultural heritage significance is the aesthetic, historic, scientific or social significance a place may have in the present and future. These values are used as assessment criteria to evaluate the importance of a place for the local government area.

Heritage identification also occurs at the national and state levels using similar criteria.

The Australian Government lists places at the national level, and the State Government lists places at the State level. In Western Australia, places of State significance are entered onto the Heritage Council of Western Australia’s State Register of Heritage Places.

Listing is the way our heritage places are identified and managed through the planning process. This helps look after the environmental, economic and social benefits of our heritage buildings for current and future generations. 

Listing assists with conservation of a place. It’s not intended to stop all change.

There is research demonstrating that caring for places of cultural heritage significance can generate environmental, economic and social benefits. This means that heritage can contribute to wider agendas such as health outcomes, education, the environment and urban planning. Some benefits include:

• Heritage forms part of community identity and culture and creates a sense of place.
• Heritage educates people about the history and importance of places.
• Heritage may contribute towards social stability and cohesion in the community.
• Economic benefits of heritage relate to the individual place and tourism of the area.
• Retention of heritage buildings reduces energy usage associated with demolition, waste disposal and new construction.
• Retention of heritage buildings also promotes sustainable development by conserving existing embodied energy.

Inclusion of a place on the City's heritage list does not prohibit it from further development. 

Managing and conserving places is about ensuring they retain their cultural heritage significance and development, and work is compatible with the heritage values of the place. 

Development and works on places listed on the City’s Heritage List (including demolition, and some renovations, additions and certain forms of repair) require planning approval.   

When assessing development on heritage properties the City uses the standard planning requirements and assesses the development’s impact on the heritage significance of the place, through LPP 7.6.1 Heritage Management - Development Guidelines for Heritage and Adjacent Properties (draft LPP: Development Guidelines for Heritage Places). 

Ultimately, we want to ensure that development retains a building’s heritage significance and is compatible with the heritage values of the place.