Historic home in Lower Templestowe to be bulldozed because Manningham councillors have rejected advice to protect it

MANNINGHAM Council has rejected heritage advice to protect a house in Lower Templestowe because the building doesn’t look grand from the street.

Manningham councillors voted not to heritage list this Lower Templestowe house.

MANNINGHAM Council has rejected heritage advice to protect a Lower Templestowe home because the building doesn’t look particularly grand from the street.

But the nondescript single-storey house — designed by renowned architect Bernard Joyce — is considered by some to be a timeless example of an early post-war Australian home.

The house, built in 1968, has an internal courtyard deemed to be of historical significance.

The courtyard can be seen from every room in the house but is not visible from the street.

A total of 23 objections were lodged on heritage grounds to protect the house from being sold to a developer.

But council dismissed the objections, and now the Ians Grove house faces the wrecking ball to make way for townhouses.

Responding to a question from Cr Dot Haynes, council chief executive Warwick Winn said internal heritage features such as fireplaces and staircases were not uncommon.

“Just because the public can’t see a heritage feature doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist,” he said.

A report by the council’s heritage adviser said the house warranted heritage protection due to its local significance.

But councillors voted 5-4 against protecting it.

Cr Andrew Conlon said he was against protecting the building because he didn’t think it was particularly significant. “To me, I don’t find it a particularly beautiful building and I think it’s unfair to impose these sorts of restrictions on people,” he said.

Cr Paul McLeish said he felt like he was “between a rock and a hard place” in voting to protect the home. “It isn’t always the case that something has to be up to 200 years old before you consider it worthy of heritage protection,” he said.

Bernard Joyce started his own architecture firm in Melbourne in 1964 after winning several industry awards, including the Herald Ideal Home Competition in 1956.