Brimbank council will continue to pursue efforts to add the former Sunshine Technical School to the Victorian Heritage Register.
In September of 2021, council lodged a Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) application to ensure the building was protected, citing architectural and historic significance.
Council said it lodged the application after it learnt of plans to demolish vacant buildings on the site in January 2020. The site, in Derby Road, Sunshine, is owned by the Department of Education and Training.
Council recently received advice that an assessment was completed and the executive director of the Heritage Council of Victoria recommended it not be included on the VHR.
Council has made a submission with the Heritage Council of Victoria and requested to present to a hearing about this recommendation.
Councillor Jasmine Nguyen described the decision from the Heritage Council of Victoria as “disappointing“.
“While it is disappointing that the executive director of Heritage Victoria has recommended that it is not listed as a heritage site, I really commend the [council] officers’ efforts in at least giving it a go and putting a submission to say that the Sunshine Technical School is a site of state significance,” Cr Nguyen said.
At the most recent council meeting on March 19, council also endorsed a recommendation to write to the state government seeking confirmation that the appropriate systems and procedures were in place to ensure the heritage buildings at the former technical school are protected from vandalism and damage while the buildings are vacant.
It will also request that the unused site is turned into a coworking arts hub as an interim use of the heritage buildings.
Cr Virginia Tachos said is it “vitally important” to preserve the local heritage.
“The way we preserve our heritage is to repurpose it and reactivate it, as we can see with The Hunt Club, and other heritage buildings – we’ve repurposed them and they are used actively by our community,” she said.
“Having this as an art hub will only ensure that it is protected and looked after and not vandalised which is unfortunately what happens to a lot of the older heritage buildings.”
