Council will commission a new Conservation Management Plan for the former Geelong Post Office, to ensure heritage aspects of the building are protected long-term.
The $33,000 required to fund the new plan will come from the existing facilities maintenance budget.
City of Greater Geelong staff moved out of the property in March, and the only remaining tenants, the Barwon Child Youth and Family Service, will vacate in the coming months.
The City said that due to the high cost of refurbishment – estimated at $3.73 million – it does not form part of its future office strategy.
Council gave public notice of its intention to sell the property in May, inviting the community to have its say via a month-long engagement process. This attracted three submissions.
One submission, from three members representing the Geelong and Region Branch National Trust of Australia (Victoria), was heard in person by a panel of seven councillors on 21 August.
Following the hearing, Council has now agreed to wait until after the new Conservation Management Plan has been completed before making a decision on the site’s future.
Arts, Culture and Heritage portfolio chair Cr Jim Mason said: “Commissioning of a new Conservation Management Plan is a very positive outcome.
“Should the Post Office eventually be sold, it will be protected by a much more comprehensive and robust plan,” he said.
“I’d like to thank the National Trust for its guidance and positive collaboration with City of Greater Geelong officers.
“We now have time for further consideration, and whether the Post Office ends up in public hands or private, I believe the heritage aspects of the building will be preserved.”
Heritage elements of the historic building are already protected through its inclusion on the Victorian Heritage Register and within a heritage overlay on the planning scheme.
The new Conservation Management Plan will provide additional detail on the history of the building, to assist in future planning.
The former Post Office is on the corner of Ryrie and Gheringhap streets in central Geelong.
Mayor Bruce Harwood said the new Conservation Management Plan will provide certainty that the heritage aspects of the building will be retained regardless of its future use.
“Given the former Post Office will soon be vacant, selling it would be in the best interests of the Greater Geelong community,” he said.
“It presents a great opportunity for the market to become engaged and to bring the building back to life, within the heritage protections that are in place.”
