Council & Business
20 January, 2026
Councillors defer planning decision
Central Goldfields Shire Council have delayed their decision on a planning application expected to undermine a post-war Maryborough home’s heritage value.
Councillors voted to defer a decision on 10 Dundas Road, Maryborough, during the December council meeting to February.
The planning application seeks to extend an existing 1940s home which is within an updated heritage overlay moved by council last year.
The three-bedroom home has a triple fronted stepped facade, weatherboard cladding, and a centrally positioned feature brick chimney at the front of the home.
The applicant seeks to extend the living room forward changing the stepped facade to be double fronted, removal of the porch over the front door and replacing it with a front verandah running the length of the modified secondary facade, a new covered deck from the rear of the building, and necessary demolition work for the renovation.
However, the council officer’s report said that the proposal wasn’t consistent with the Planning Policy Framework and the Heritage Overlay provisions, which requires new works to protect and respond to the heritage values of existing buildings.
“While alternative designs for alterations and extensions could potentially achieve an acceptable outcome that respects the heritage characteristics of the site and its surrounding context, the current proposal does not meet these requirements,” the report read.
The home is considered Contributory to the Palmerston Street Precinct within the Maryborough Heritage Review 2023 due to its post-war era construction.
According to the officer’s report, the current proposal compromise the homes heritage value diminishing the value of the proposed precinct and subject land itself.
“The dwelling would no longer maintain the integrity of its post-war architecture by the proposed alterations and extensions,” the report read.
However, this recommendation hasn’t yet been considered by council, when councillor Geoff Bartlett successfully moved for deferral because of “some advice from officers received very late this afternoon which needs to be fleshed out a bit more”.
Cr Bartlett previously requested the application be determined by the full council, rather than under delegated authority by council officers, on July 8, 2025.
Councillor Gerard Murphy disagreed with Cr Bartlett’s motion.
“I’m of the feeling personally that this shouldn’t be deferred and it should go to an alternative motion,” he said.
The planning application was deferred while two others in the December council meeting were allowed to lapse.
The Dundas Street application will be considered at the February council meeting while the other two applications are expected to be considered at a later date.