proposed redevelopment of 93-97 webb street, fitzroy · character. webb and charles street contain...

Bryce Raworth Pty Ltd | Conservation • Urban Design

Proposed Redevelopment of 93-97 Webb Street, Fitzroy

Report to Council - Assessment of Heritage Impacts

28 November 2017

Bryce Raworth Pty Ltd | Conservation • Urban Design 1

Proposed Redevelopment of 93-97 Webb Street, Fitzroy

Report to Council – Heritage Issues

28 November 2017

1.0 Introduction This report was prepared on behalf of Outline Projects, the owner of the buildings at 93 and 95-97 Webb Street, Fitzroy. It concerns a proposal to redevelop the site, including the partial demolition of the existing building and the construction of a part four, part seven storey apartment building, plus a basement garage at the Webb Street end. This report, prepared by Sally Beaton and Bryce Raworth, comments on whether the proposal is appropriate in character and detail, and whether it is acceptable in terms of the potential impact on the heritage significance of the site and overall precinct.

2.0 Sources of Information

The analysis below draws upon in inspection of the subject site and its environs, and is intended to be read in conjunction with drawings prepared by Jackson Clements Burrows Architects and other documents submitted with respect to the application. In addition, a review has been made of the relevant heritage studies including the City of Yarra Review of Heritage Overlay Areas 2007 (Revised September 2015). The Heritage Overlay provisions in the Yarra Planning Scheme, Clauses 43.01 and 22.02, have also been reviewed. In addition, historical photos from the State Library of Victoria have been referenced.

Report to Council 93-97 Webb Street Fitzroy


3.0 Description and History

The subject site is a long rectangular portion of land with three street frontages - Webb Street to the South, Charles Street to the north and an unnamed laneway to the east.

The site comprises two buildings to Webb Street, which date to the interwar period. 93 Webb Street is a simple brick building with a plain painted brick facade. This building is shown as a separate business to that of 95-97 Webb Street in an early photograph of the site (see Figure 1 below). The facade currently has a ‘hit and miss’ brick pattern, which was constructed to replace a door opening and the brick parapet obscures a largely flat roof clad in corrugated iron.

At 95-97 Webb Street, and extending through to the Charles Street frontage to the north, is a separate brick building dating to the interwar period, that was originally one component of the several constructed and used by the Paterson’s Pty Ltd business in this part of Fitzroy. This building includes a rendered parapet to both frontages, with face brick below. The facade of the Webb Street elevation has three bays, the left has a roller door, with the central and right bay containing modern glazed windows and an entrance door. Each bay is flanked by face brick columns, with decorative rendered elements.

The Charles Street facade is articulated in a similar manner to the primary Webb Street facade with three bays, each bay flanked by brick columns with rendered decorative elements. The central bay has a roller door. The parapet has remnant writing which says ‘Paterson’s Pty Ltd’.

Along the unnamed laneway, the building is largely face red brick, with windows above head height along the length of the whole building.

The urban context in this area is somewhat mixed, being just off Smith Street, which is a predominantly commercial zone, with an emerging residential character. Webb and Charles Street contain a similar mix of commercial and residential properties of various degrees of heritage interest, albeit they are generally of a single or double storey scale.

Along Webb Street to the west of the subject site is the rear of the Union Club Hotel, a two storey Victorian red brick building, while to the east, on the opposite side of the laneway is the rear yard of 171 Smith Street, which is a two storey Victorian building. On the southern side of Webb Street there is a mix of single and two storey residential properties, of varying ages and levels of intactness.

Along Charles Street to the north is a row of single storey Victorian workers cottages and Victorian terrace houses, while to the east is a pair of two storey Victorian terraces. To the west there is a modern apartment building with a three storey facade and an additional 2 levels at a setback.



Figure 1 The Webb Street frontage as seen between 1970 and 1974. The plainer facade

of 93 Webb Street is to the left, and the Paterson’s building at 95-97 Webb Street, with its prominent signage, is to the right. Alterations to these facades include the doors to the left have been bricked over and the roller doors in the far right bays have been removed and replaced by window openings. The facade has also been painted, with ‘Paterson’s Pty Ltd’ no longer visible. Image source: State Library Victoria

Figure 2 The Charles Street facade of the Patersons building as seen between 1970 and

1974. This facade is relative intact, though the wording on the parapet is less visible now. Image source: State Library Victoria.



Figure 3 The facade of 95-97 Webb Street; Two of the roller doors visible in figure 1

have been replaced with glazed window panels and the building painted.

Figure 4 The façade of 93 Webb Street. The central door as seen in Figure 1 has been

bricked over.



Figure 5 The Charles Street facade.

Figure 6 The eastern elevation as viewed from the corner of Webb Street and the unnamed

laneway.



Figure 7 A view of the Webb Street streetscape facing east.

Figure 8 A view of the Webb Street streetscape facing west.



Figure 9 A view to the side elevation of 98 Webb Street, opposite the subject site to the

south.

Figure 10 A view of 100-102 Webb Street, opposite the subject site to the south.



Figure 11 Little Smith Street, opposite the subject site to the south; the unnamed laneway to

the east of the subject site is a continuation of this laneway.

Figure 12 Facing 104 and 106 Charles Street to the east of the subject site.



Figure 13 The Charles Street streetscape facing west.

Figure 14 The recent development at 96 Charles Street, west of the subject site.



4.0 Heritage Overlay

The subject property at 93-97 Webb Street is included within the South Fitzroy Precinct, identified as HO334 in the Schedule to the Heritage Overlay of the Yarra Planning Scheme. The large precinct is nominally bounded by Alexandra Parade to the north, Smith Street to the east, Victoria Parade to the south and Nicholson Street to the west. The site is not subject to external paint controls, internal alteration controls or tree controls as a result of this listing.

Figure 15 Detail of the Heritage Overlay map, with the subject site indicated by the red

arrow. The statement of significance for the South Fitzroy Precinct, as included in the City of Yarra Review of Heritage Overlay Areas 2007, is reproduced in parts below:

How is It Significant? HO334 South Fitzroy Heritage Overlay Area is aesthetically and historically significant to the City of Yarra (National Estate Register [NER] Criteria E1, A4). Why is It Significant? The South Fitzroy Heritage Overlay Area is significant:

• As the earliest urban area outside the Melbourne City grid to be settled in the

Melbourne municipality, with several buildings from the mid nineteenth century surviving as testimony to its early establishment;

• For the unusually high number of early Victorian-era and some Regency period buildings, being generally simply detailed and a clear reflection of the early date of Fitzroy’s settlement.

• As evidence of early government planning controls or Acts of Parliament, from the 1850s, that aimed to solve street alignment problems in this privately planned suburb, arising from a hitherto lack of co-ordination between neighbouring allotment owners;

• As a good example of the successful application of the Act for Regulating Buildings



and Party Walls, and for Preventing Mischiefs by Fire in the City of Melbourne (Melbourne Building Act 1849), which forced the use of fireproof construction and gave South Fitzroy a character distinct from other inner suburbs such as Richmond and Collingwood, that have a greater proportion of Victorian-era timber buildings.

• As a substantially intact collection of predominantly mid to late nineteenth and early twentieth century building stock, interspersed with well preserved inter-war residential, commercial, retail and industrial buildings that contribute to the historical character of the area.

• For the relatively large number of individually significant buildings, being predominantly solid masonry rather than clad with timber, largely as a result of the Melbourne Building Act, 1849

• For the ornate and exuberant detail of many late nineteenth and early twentieth century buildings in the suburb, reflecting the affluence of many of the inhabitants of this area, particularly in the late 19th century.

• For the early street, lane and allotment layouts, some original bluestone kerbs, paving and guttering, and some mature exotic street trees, providing an appropriate setting for this collection of residential, retail, commercial and industrial buildings.

• For the landmark qualities of some large factory and warehouse buildings from the late 19th and earlier 20th century, such as the MacRobertson confectionary complex which are significant features in the skyline of this predominantly low rise suburb; and

• For the major early institutions that developed on its fringes, in particular, St Vincent’s Hospital and The Convent of Mercy, as closely linked with the area’s history, education and welfare within the metropolitan area.

The subject site is graded ‘contributory’ in the City of Yarra Review of Heritage Overlay Areas 2007 (Revised February 2017). These gradings are in the context of a multi-tier grading system defined in Clause 22.02 as follows:

Individually significant: The place is a heritage place in its own right. Within a Heritage Overlay applying to an area each individually significant place is also Contributory. Contributory: The place is a contributory element within a larger heritage place. A contributory element could include a building, building groups and works, as well as building or landscape parts such as chimneys, verandahs, wall openings, rooflines and paving. Not contributory: The place is not individually significant and not contributory within the heritage place.

The subject site is located in streetscape environment of moderate significance. Along Webb Street, to the west the two storey Union Club Hotel is graded ‘individually significant’, and to the east, on the other side of the laneway is the rear of 171 Smith Street, a two storey Victorian era building which is also graded ‘individually significant’. To the south, 104 Webb Street is a two storey rendered building graded ‘individually significant’, 100 Webb Street is a two storey bluestone building with a rendered facade and parapet, the building is graded ‘individually significant’, with the rear listed as ‘not contributory’. At 96-98 Webb Street there an altered early 20th century brick and bluestone dwelling graded ‘individually significant’. Along Charles Street, to the east, 104 and 106 Charles Street are two storey Victorian terraces graded ‘contributory’, while to the west there is not contributory modern development. Opposite the site, 105 and 107 Charles Street are a pair of



single storey Victorian terraces both graded ‘contributory’ and 101 to 93 are a group of single storey Victorian workers cottages, set up off street level on bluestone plinths and are graded ‘individually significant’.

5.0 Heritage Policy

The site is subject to the provisions of Clause 43.01, the Heritage Overlay. The purpose of this overlay is as follows:

To implement the State Planning Policy Framework and the Local Planning Policy Framework, including the Municipal Strategic Statement and local planning policies. To conserve and enhance heritage places of natural or cultural significance. To conserve and enhance those elements which contribute to the significance of heritage places. To ensure that development does not adversely affect the significance of heritage places. To conserve specifically identified heritage places by allowing a use that would otherwise be prohibited if this will demonstrably assist with the conservation of the significance of the heritage place.

Before deciding on an application, in addition to the decision guidelines in Clause 65, the responsible authority must consider, as appropriate:

• The State Planning Policy Framework and the Local Planning Policy Framework, including the Municipal Strategic Statement and local planning policies.

• The significance of the heritage place and whether the proposal will adversely affect the natural or cultural significance of the place.

• Any applicable statement of significance, heritage study and any applicable conservation policy.

• Whether the location, bulk, form or appearance of the proposed building will adversely affect the significance of the heritage place.

• Whether the location, bulk, form and appearance of the proposed building is in keeping with the character and appearance of adjacent buildings and the heritage place.

• Whether the demolition, removal or external alteration will adversely affect the significance of the heritage place.

• Whether the proposed works will adversely affect the significance, character or appearance of the heritage place.

The proposal must also be reviewed against Council’s local heritage policy as set out under Clause 22.02. This policy provides more detailed guidance as to the forms of development that might be appropriate in Heritage Overlay areas. Relevant policies in Clause 22.02 relating to the proposal are: 22.02-5.1 Demolition Removal of Part of a Heritage Place or Contributory Elements Encourage the removal of inappropriate alterations, additions and works that detract from the cultural significance of the place. Generally discourage the demolition of part of an individually significant or contributory building or removal of contributory elements unless:



• That part of the heritage place has been changed beyond recognition of its original or subsequent contributory character(s).

• For a contributory building: - that part is not visible from the street frontage (other than a laneway), abutting park

or public open space, and the main building form including roof form is maintained; or

- the removal of the part would not adversely affect the contribution of the building to the heritage place.

• For individually significant building or works, it can be demonstrated that the removal of part of the building or works does not negatively affect the significance of the place.

22.02-5.7 New Development, Alterations or Additions General Encourage the design of new development and alterations and additions to a heritage place or a contributory element to a heritage place to:

• Respect the pattern, rhythm, orientation to the street, spatial characteristics, fenestration, roof form, materials and heritage character of the surrounding historic streetscape.

• Be articulated and massed to correspond with the prevailing building form of the heritage place or contributory elements to the heritage place.

• Be visually recessive and not dominate the heritage place. • Be distinguishable from the original historic fabric. • Not remove, cover, damage or change original historic fabric. • Not obscure views of principle façades. • Consider the architectural integrity and context of the heritage place or contributory

element. Encourage setbacks from the principal street frontage to be similar to those of adjoining contributory buildings; where there are differing adjoining setbacks, the greater setback will apply. Encourage similar façade heights to the adjoining contributory elements in the street. Where there are differing façade heights, the design should adopt the lesser height. Minimise the visibility of new additions by:

• Locating ground level additions and any higher elements towards the rear of the site. • Encouraging ground level additions to contributory buildings to be sited within the

‘envelope’ created by projected sight lines (see Figure 1) • Encouraging upper level additions to heritage places to be sited within the ‘envelope’

created by projected sight lines (for Contributory buildings refer to Figure 2 and for Individually significant buildings refer to Figure 3).

• Encouraging additions to individually significant places to, as far as possible, be concealed by existing heritage fabric when viewed from the front street and to read as secondary elements when viewed from any other adjoining street.

Discourage elements which detract from the heritage fabric or are not contemporary with the era of the building such as unroofed or open upper level decks or balconies, reflective glass, glass balustrades and pedestrian entrance canopies.



22.02-5.7 Specific Requirements (where there is a conflict or inconsistency between the general and specific requirements, the specific requirements prevail) Corner Sites and Sites with Dual Frontages Encourage new building and additions on a site with frontages to two streets, being either a corner site or a site with dual street frontages, to respect the built form and character of the heritage place and adjoining or adjacent contributory elements to the heritage place. Industrial, Commercial and Retail Heritage Place or Contributory Elements Encourage new upper level additions and works to:

• Respect the scale and form of the existing heritage place or contributory elements to the heritage place by being set back from the lower built form elements. Each higher element should be set further back from lower heritage built forms.

• Incorporate treatments which make them less apparent.



6.0 The Proposal

The proposal for the subject site involves the partial demolition of the existing buildings and construction of a combination of a 7 storey apartment building and nine 4 storey townhouses. The apartment building includes two levels of basement parking, whereas the townhouses each have ground level garages.

Along Webb Street, the two heritage facades and the eastern return wall along the laneway (to a depth of around 15 metres) will be retained. The facade openings will however be altered, with the existing metal roller door and windows to 95-97 Webb Street to be removed and replaced by new glazing incorporating an entry to the tenancy, and an entrance door to the apartment lobby. The ‘hit and miss’ brick pattern brickwork to the former opening to 93 Webb Street will also be removed, and the opening reinstated and widened slightly (approximately 1 ½ bricks on either side will be removed) to allow a vehicular entrance to access a car lift. A timber sliding door, similar to the one visible in Figure 1, is proposed to be installed in this opening. A vehicle crossover to access this opening will also be constructed/reinstated (with the street parking space currently in front to be relocated slightly east).

At the Charles Street end of the Paterson’s building, the facade and the return wall along the laneway (to a depth of around 4.5 metres) will be retained, though the existing central roller door and bricks in the bays on either side will be removed to insert new openings.

The majority of the eastern elevation will be demolished, with the exception of the return walls connected to the facades, as just described. In addition the existing roofs will also be demolished.

Excluding the basement levels, the new envelope will be part four storeys, part seven storeys. A seven storey apartment envelope will face Webb Street, with the balance of the site, facing the laneway and Charles Street, to comprise four storey townhouses.

With regard to the apartment building, the basement levels will be accessed via a car lift off Webb Street. The ground floor of the 7 storey apartment envelope will be located behind the retained facades. The first floor will be constructed at a slight setback to the facade, with balconies extending to the facade. The southern face of Levels 2, 3 and 4 is at a relatively slight setback from the heritage facades, whereas the southern face at Levels 5 and 6 is set back between 3 and 4 metres. The associated envelope will include finishes of dark coloured bricks, clear glazing, metal cladding with a dark metal clad roof. Balustrades will be made from anodised black steel and be visually permeable.

The new apartment envelope will be largely rectilinear in form, with the Webb Street facade at levels 2-4 articulated as four bays of three storeys, with brick piers between large glazed windows and/or balconies, while the facade of levels 5 and 6 above is to be of clear glazing, with dark window frames articulated at varying angles. The facade and parapet line of the upper levels provide a modern interpretation of the two ground level facades of the heritage buildings.



The four storey townhouse envelope will be largely constructed to each of the side boundaries and will be finished using light and dark bricks, metal wall cladding (dark grey and green), clear glazing, perforated metal balustrades and metal roof cladding. The roofscape of the townhouses provides a modern interpretation of the sawtooth roofs common to the area, with raked roofs above each apartment, separated from each other by flat recessed sections over each apartment’s stairwell.

From a heritage perspective, the proposed works raise two separate issues – firstly, the extent of demolition and, secondly, the appropriateness of the new works. These two issues are discussed separately below.

Demolition As noted above, heritage policy generally discourages demolition of part of a contributory building unless the part is not visible from the street frontage and that the removal of the part would not adversely affect the contribution of the building to the heritage place. The key contributory street interfaces along Webb and Charles Street will be retained, with the fabric to be demolished largely concealed from street view behind this. While elements of both facades will be removed/altered, as seen in Figures 1 and 2, these facades are already altered, and it is predominantly non-original and non-contributory fabric that will be removed. The subject site is not an ‘individually significant’ heritage place and its significance derives from the contribution it makes to the wider heritage precinct. The extent of demolition is compliant with heritage policy and acceptable. While much of the elevation to the laneway is to be removed, this is in effect a largely featureless side brick wall, albeit with some small high windows, and its removal is acceptable in the context of buildings of contributory significance only. Moreover, as is discussed in more detail below, the character of this wall is to be interpreted in the fabric and design of the townhouses that are to be constructed in its place. New Built form The design of the proposed works makes a considered response to each of the relevant guidelines for the design of alterations and additions in Heritage Overlay areas. The principal consideration is the impact of the new works on the Webb and Charles Street streetscapes. Council’s heritage policy for new development in Heritage Overlay areas encourages additions to be generally sympathetic to the heritage precinct in terms of height, scale, mass, siting, form and materiality when viewed from surrounding streets. That being said, as the buildings are graded contributory and located within a somewhat varied context in terms of built form and scale, there is slightly greater freedom for a more interpretative design response.

Along Webb Street, while the works will be of a different scale to what is seen in directly adjoining heritage buildings, it will fit within the range of scale found in its broader context. Its upper levels are set back from the line of the ground floor facades as encouraged by policy, and the scheme adopts a polite, contemporary architectural expression with a limited palette of materials and finishes (discussed



below). The building envelope will also be adjacent to the back of the Union Club Hotel, and an unnamed laneway, of which on the other side is the rear of 171 Smith Street, so the mass of the development will not have direct interfaces with the frontage or front facade of any neighbouring heritage buildings. Along Charles Street, the new envelope will be setback from the retained heritage facade by approximately 2.6m, ensuring the heritage facade remains a dominant element. The raked roof form of the townhouse facing Charles Street further moderates the height of the townhouses and mediates the transition of height in buildings along Charles Street. The overall height of the scheme responds to the emerging streetscape scale and character of Fitzroy/Collingwood, as seen in new development along Smith Street and in the recent neighbouring development at 96 Charles Street, a part three, part five storey building. The materiality of the new works, most notably the dark brick finish to Webb Street, is designed to relate to both the retained heritage facades and the more robust brick materiality of the wider area. The use of metal cladding, black steel balustrades, clear and opaque glazing and light and dark brick will complement the retained heritage fabric and adjacent buildings, while nonetheless establishing an appropriate contemporary expression. Heritage policy in relation to industrial, commercial and retail places seeks to: Encourage new upper level additions and works to:

• Respect the scale and form of the existing heritage place or contributory elements to the heritage place by being set back from the lower built form elements. Each higher element should be set further back from lower heritage built forms.

• Incorporate treatments which make them less apparent. The policy does not seek that upper levels to commercial, retail and industrial buildings be concealed, but rather that they respect the scale and size of the existing heritage place or contributory elements to the heritage place by being set back from the retained heritage frontages, and to incorporate treatments that make them less apparent. Along both street frontages (with slightly more emphasis on the Webb Street end) the upper level setbacks and low key external materiality will assist in achieving these outcomes. The substantial setbacks and extent of glazing of the upper two levels to the apartment building in particular provide a strong response to this aspect of policy. The glazed, prismatic form of these upper levels will be low key and less visible, but to the extent it is visible, will provide visual interest. There are numerous precedents for development of this scale within heritage overlay areas in the City of Yarra. Notably, there are a number of examples of development of comparable scale taking place in the neighbouring Smith Street precinct, including the upper level additions made in recent years to the Paterson’s building at 231-235 Smith Street.



There are also a number of approvals for upper level additions of broadly comparable scale to single storey industrial heritage buildings, some of which are located in HO334, that establish a clear precedent for this form of development.

Figure 16 The former Paterson’s building at 231-235 Smith Street, Fitzroy. Three storey

additions were added approximately 5 years ago.

Figure 17 Residential development to the former boot factory at the corner of Gipps and

Nicholson Streets, Abbotsford. The built form rises from within the retained shell of the heritage building. This is a contributory place in the Charles Street Precinct (HO313).



Figure 18 Approved development at 239-245 Johnston Street, Fitzroy. Part of the site

includes the retained and partially restored façade of an industrial building within HO334.

7.0 Conclusion

In conclusion, the proposal is a design outcome that has been prepared with appropriate regard for the Webb and Charles Street streetscapes in terms of heritage considerations. The scheme represents a considered and balanced outcome having consideration for the objectives and design guidelines of Clause 43.01 and the associated heritage policies provides within Clause 22.02 of the Yarra Planning Scheme.

proposed redevelopment of 93-97 webb street, fitzroy · character. webb and charles street contain...

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