Melbourne council rejects heritage plan for ‘ugly duckling’ South Yarra apartment

City of Melbourne councillors have rejected a plan to give a South Yarra apartment block heritage protection that residents feared would jeopardise their hope to sell the old building to developers and allow more homes to be built.

On Monday, The Age reported the curtain wall-style block on Walsh Street, called “Motstone”, was one of 16 properties and two new precincts set to receive protection as part of a South Yarra heritage review initiated by Melbourne City Council.

Sarah Creane, a resident of Motstone in South Yarra.Credit: Penny Stephens

But on Tuesday night, councillor Rohan Leppert, who leads the City of Melbourne’s heritage portfolio, moved an amendment that exempted the 13-apartment building from heritage protections.

Leppert’s amendment still said the postwar building met the threshold to be classed as “significant” to South Yarra’s heritage, but instead categorised it as “non-contributory” because council found “the higher threshold for demolition ought not apply”.

Leppert said the building had unique challenges and accepted the owners corporation faced “eye-watering costs” to maintain it and improve its poor energy efficiency.

“So I think we should grant the request of the submitters,” he said. “This is a one-off consideration, given the unique characteristics of the site and its strata ownership, not a precedent for this building typology generally.”

The amendment passed unanimously.

Lord Mayor Sally Capp, Deputy Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece and councillors Roshena Campbell and Kevin Louey were excused from the vote having declared a conflict of interest due to a campaign donation.

The proposal to heritage-list Motstone, which was constructed in 1960, received six written objections that claimed the property had no historic or architectural merit and that the building was unattractive, rundown and did not complement the streetscape.

On Tuesday night, three speakers also opposed the building’s proposed classification, including residents Sarah Creane and George Nedovic.

Creane earlier told The Age she thought the block was not unique, poorly built and was “the ugly duckling in the street, without a doubt”.

She said the building’s upkeep was already costly, and feared the additional costs and constraints from new heritage rules. Creane believed the site would serve the community better with a new apartment building that could house more people.

However, the state government-appointed planning panel agreed with the council’s heritage consultants who argued that the building was a refined, highly intact example of postwar Modernist design. Of about 60 postwar flats identified in the council’s review, only three were deemed significant.

One of the block’s rotting timber frames.Credit: Penny Stephens

The council had said Motstone fitted the neighbourhood character, its attractiveness was subjective and development opportunities for the site were not relevant to a heritage assessment.

But Tuesday’s decision means the endorsed South Yarra heritage review will now go to Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny for approval without Motstone included for a heritage listing.

With Sophie Aubrey

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