By Shelby Brooks
Officer’s historical kiln was saved after VCAT upheld the ruling Cardinia Shire Council made about the future of the site back in September 2020.
Timbertop Estate had wanted to turn the James Hicks Pottery site on the Princes Highway Officer into two subdivisions, which Cardinia Shire councillors had unanimously voted against.
The site sits within a Heritage Overlay and contains a brick kiln, chimney and clay pit dating back to the 1880s.
In a VCAT hearing held on 14 June 2021, the tribunal upheld the refusal.
“Rather than conserving the setting and the existing fabric of the heritage place, the proposed subdivision will adversely affect the significance of the place by inserting a lot between the kiln and the former clay pit, on which a development would then be undertaken that disrupts the existing visual links between the two associated parts of the heritage place,” the ruling read.
“While the former clay pit’s association with the kiln may not be readily apparent to the casual observer, that is capable of being addressed using interpretative methods that form part of a conservation management plan for the heritage place.
“In conjunction with my concerns outlined above, the proposed smaller lot, considered in conjunction with any future development on the larger lot, will diminish the prominence of the kiln.”
