The City of Melbourne has unveiled a policy that looks to protect the garden city’s laneways from future developments.

The new regulations see restrictive changes to planning controls and setbacks that will preserve the heritage and character of the laneways of the city.

City of Melbourne Acting Lord Mayor, Nicholas Reece, says that the new regulations will ensure the longevity of the laneways.

“We have already seen too many laneways seriously degraded, so we have introduced these tough new controls to protect against inappropriate development. These measures will stop inappropriate, low-quality development in all our laneways – with our update helping to ensure developers know exactly what is expected.

“We want Melbourne to be a city of design excellence and protecting our heritage plays a vital role in making that a reality.”

Melbourne’s Heritage Portfolio Lead Rohan Leppert believes the protection of the laneways will further their cultural significance.

“From our extensive heritage reviews to the Heritage Good Design Guide, we’ve undertaken more heritage work in recent years than ever before. We’ve increased protection to 126 heritage sites and five new precincts inside the Hoddle Grid, and hundreds more buildings across the municipality,” he says.

“This has been a mammoth effort which has already begun to deliver significant improvements in the types of development applications we’re seeing brought to Council. 

“Far from inhibiting development, these planning controls and policies are seeing more heritage fabric retained in new development, boosting creative and high-quality architecture responses, keeping Melbourne’s famed streets and laneways interesting and inviting.” 

HER, a new multi-level hospitality development on Drewery Lane has been cited as an ideal development for Melbourne’s laneways, due to its respectful design that is mindful of the lane’s heritage.

“Restoring the building at 270 Lonsdale Street has charged Drewery Lane with new energy,” says HQ Group’s Georgie Larkins, the company that owns HER. 

“It has helped tidy the laneway, highlighted the unique character of the heritage architecture and street art, and shone a light on our neighbouring traders. It has created a place for people to meet and enjoy the best of Melbourne’s laneway culture.”  

For more information, click here.