Nick Hayles

2018 candidate for City of Victor Harbor.
Heritage survey responses.

Do you agree that the identification and protection of local heritage places is best done by local councils rather than DPTI (Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure)?
Absolutely
In your opinion, has the current system of local heritage protection served your community well?
While it has been better than nothing there are always improvements that could be made.
Should councils reject proposals to list local places of historic merit simply because an owner objects?
That shouldn't be the only measure used in any case.
Should neighbours of local heritage listed buildings have a right of appeal on development applications that propose demolition?
Unsure.
Should buildings listed as Contributory Items in your council area receive better protection?
Unsure.
Do you agree that places proposed for listing by your council as Local Heritage or Contributory Items should be subject to review by DPTI? Or would reviews be more appropriately conducted by an independent source of expert advice?
While an independent body would be ideal, an appropriatley appointed panel within the department could perform a similar role given that they were not subject to Ministerial pressure.
Would you like to see your council work more closely with the National Trust of SA in protecting heritage, for example, by signing up as one of the Trust's Civic Partners?
I am unsure of what the Trust's Civic Partners program entails so couldn't comment specifically on this. However I believe that as a council we have and should continue to work proactively to support and promote heritage within our community.
What are your personal suggestions for improving the way your council handles policy and planning?
This all goes back to the way the State government has continued to roll back all planning controls to themselves and away from councils. I believe that local led planning would lead to better results for locals. If we could set real rules around Character Areas and the like we could actually influence the development in our community.
Should councils actively encourage individuals to nominate places for consideration as local heritage?
We should promote and protect all significant places of local heritage.