It is easy to get lost in Melbourne's laneways. These narrow alleys and pedestrian pathways that date back to the Victorian era are now a popular cultural attraction with their distinctly European bars, elegant boutiques and vibrant street art.
For decades, however, these beloved streets have been the victim of overexpansion at the hands of ruthless developers, and home to shopfronts obstructed by rubbish and parking.
The City of Melbourne is finally taking steps to protect this important asset of the city’s heritage, recently releasing a new update for urban planning controls and policies in order celebrate and protect these iconic Victorian treasures.
“Heritage laneways are a much-loved part of the fabric of Melbourne and something that is really unique and distinctive about our city,” the Acting Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece said. “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.”
Centre Place, famous for its blue cobblestones and boutiques, Hardware Lane for its restaurants, Tattersalls Lane a go-to for bars, and Hosier Lane for street art: the new developments will adapt to the character of each lane and preserve building materials so as to respect the historic heritage of these local areas.
Reece added that previous planning regulations forced the City Council to approve expansions that fell short of the community's expectations: the demolition of Melbourne House in 2018, a twenty-three-storey century-old building in the heart of Hardware Lane, for example.
Fortunately, the new controls have already spared the Flinders Lane, Hosier Lane and Blender Lane districts from overdevelopment.
Romina Beltrame, owner of the renowned Florentine fine stationery shop Il Papiro on Degraves Street, which will celebrate its 20th anniversary next December, vividly recalls the changes that have taken place along the street over the past two decades.
"It has changed so much”, Beltrame remarks.
“Today there are a lot of retail shops and many more apartment complexes with several floors. However, fortunately, the same European character that attracted me 20 years ago has remained: the many bars and the outdoor tables.”
The National Trust of Australia has also supported the new City of Melbourne heritage protection regulations, stating that they will “best preserve the distinctive character of the laneways from inappropriate development.”
However, the new measures will not stop the destruction of some pieces of street art on Blender Lane, “due to their ephemeral nature”. But the City Council was keen to emphasise that “it will always be possible for artists in Melbourne to express their creativity in some of the city's laneways.”
“I think it is extraordinary that City of Melbourne is enhancing its local beauty and finally trying to protect it,” Beltrame added.
The creativity, colours and dynamism of the laneways are an essential part of the character of Victoria's capital city. Plans like these bring citizens closer to the CBD, supporting not only our historic heritage but also businesses. Hopefully, the creation of promotional tours of the city's laneways for incoming tourists will also be considered in the future.
