Bayside Council could still save historic Brighton home from wrecking ball

A “unique” Tudor-style Brighton home is set to be torn down to make way for modern townhouses after it was refused state heritage protection. But the 90-year-old house can still be saved.

Brighton residents have been fighting to save the Grosvenor St home. Picture: George Salpigtidis

A historic Tudor-style home in Brighton slated for demolition could still be saved despite a failed bid for state heritage protection.

Passionate residents banded together to push for the Grosvenor St property — once home to prominent 20th century journalist, radio playwright and actor Esme Johnson — to be included on the Victorian Heritage Register after plans were lodged to raze the 90-year-old home to make way for two townhouses.

The proposal is due to be determined by the state’s planning tribunal in December after Bayside Council failed to make a decision within 60 days of plans being submitted.

Inside the Esme Johnson home at 38 Grosvenor St, Brighton.

The Esme Johnson home.

The council is now scrambling to assess whether the “Tudor Revival” home qualifies for local protection ahead of the VCAT hearing.

Councillors will tonight decide whether to conduct a local heritage study of the property.

While the home had previously been part of the Grosvenor Street Heritage Precinct it was removed after it was decided the property “did not contribute to the architectural value of the precinct which is primarily Edwardian architecture”.

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If the assessment goes ahead and the property is found to warrant protection, the council will prepare a planning scheme amendment and call on the Planning Minister to slap interim protection orders on the site.

A council officer’s report states “the house has remained largely intact and is a unique and individual property within Bayside’s suburban setting”.

In a letter to the council, heritage consultant Rohan Storey said there was “no doubt that (38 Grosvenor St) is a significant property in its own right”.

“It is not only an unusual example of the Tudor Revival, it was also designed by the female owner-builder Esme Johnson, something almost unheard of in the 1920s,” he wrote.

“There are also no places from before WWII within Bayside known to have been designed by a female, let alone one who was not a trained designer.”

A change.org petition, calling for the house to be preserved, has garnered more than 940 signatures.

If the last ditch heritage bid fails, the home will be razed and two townhouses with basement parking built at the site.