Federation Square Has Been Granted Permanent Victorian Heritage Protection

The future of a Melbourne icon is today looking a whole lot less shaky, thanks to a decision by the Heritage Council of Victoria (HCV). Having clocked up just 17 years in its current form, Federation Square has finally scored itself a place on the Victorian Heritage Register.

The Council made the decision at a meeting overnight, deeming the Swanston Street site to be "of cultural heritage significance to the State of Victoria" and should be included in the Victorian Heritage Register for its "historical, aesthetic, technological and social significance". The decision follows an initial hearing in April and the consideration of 754 submissions from from members of the public, of which 751 supported the inclusion of the 3.8-hectare site on the Register.

Inclusion on the Register provides new legal protection for the famed site, and means it can't be significantly altered without a permit or permit exemption from Heritage Victoria.

Mark Chew for Visit Victoria

While the Square is relatively new in comparison to other Victorian heritage-listed locations (254 of them pre-date 1850), the decision comes after much debate about the site's future. Controversial plans to build Apple's first Australian global flagship store smack bang in the middle of Federation Square were announced last year and eventually — and rather loudly — opposed and scrapped in April.

The Victorian Government first announced the divisive project in December, 2017, copping considerable community backlash when people learned it would see the existing Yarra Building torn down and public land sold off to a commercial retailer. Temporary heritage protection was then granted to the site in August 2018, putting a hold on any works taking place on the site until December that year and suggesting that permanent protection could soon be sought. After 18 months of controversy, the Apple project was canned in April this year, after Heritage Victoria officially refused the tech giant's application to knock down an existing building.

Famed Federation Square resident ACMI is currently closed as it undergoes a multimillion dollar upgrade, slated to reopen in mid-2020.

Image: David Hannah for Visit Victoria