We have a proactive approach to heritage conservation in our local area. This includes buildings dating from the Arts and Crafts period.

In 2021, the Woollahra Council Heritage Gap Analysis was endorsed. The Heritage Gap Analysis recommended Council prioritise a study of Arts and Crafts buildings in our local area. Accordingly, we are now preparing an Arts and Crafts Study.

We are being assisted in our study by heritage consultancy firm Extent Heritage. In 2024 we asked Extent Heritage to complete a study of a number of buildings in our local area constructed in the Arts and Crafts period. They identified 29 buildings in Bellevue Hill, Darling Point, Double Bay, Edgecliff, Point Piper, Rose Bay, Vaucluse and Woollahra which may merit listing as heritage items on the Woollahra LEP 2014.

We are requesting site visits to view the inside of the dwellings which will help further inform the study. We are aiming to conduct these visits between 1-11 April 2025.

Note: Cover photo is state heritage listed Babworth House in Darling Point. Source: Richardson & Wrench Double Bay.

We welcome your feedback

Council welcomes your comments on the study. We invite property owners and residents to share information about the property such as images, historic information and stories, aspects of the building you love and anything else you think is relevant to our heritage study.

You can provide your comments by completing the form below or by email to Vanessa Wood, Heritage Officer at Vanessa.Wood@woollahra.nsw.gov.au. We are gathering comments for the study throughout April.

The study will be carried out in accordance with the NSW Government guideline Assessing heritage significance 2023. To inform the study we are arranging site inspections.

• Site visits will be conducted to help inform our draft study.
• Once the study is drafted, we will circulate this to affected owners for feedback. We will then collate submissions and update the Draft Study accordingly. The Draft Study (and submissions) will then be reported to Council’s Local Planning Panel (Woollahra LPP), and the advice of the LPP will be reported to a future meeting of Council. You will be notified of the upcoming meetings and you will be provided with an opportunity to address or submit correspondence to the decisions makers.
• Should the Planning Proposal progress, there will be a formal public exhibition of the proposal. If you would like to stay updated via email, press +Follow at the top of this page.
• At each stage of the process, property owners and residents of the identified buildings will have an opportunity to make submissions to Council.

For more information see our FAQs section on this page.