Alexandrina Council residents have until 20 October to comment on the first full-scale Heritage Strategy and Action Plan drafted for a regional council in South Australia. 

The council’s Draft Heritage Strategy and Action Plan 2023-2030 establishes a strategy to manage and activate the cultural and built heritage in the region with a seven-year plan to deliver the suggested strategic framework. 

“Alexandrina’s heritage story is diverse and complex, celebrated by the prominent architectural character of our townships, their historic buildings and their precincts,” says CEO Nigel Morris. 

“It encapsulates our unique landscapes and natural features and is rich with Indigenous and non-Indigenous culture. 

“Over many years, our community has told us that they would like Council to identify, protect, and promote this history. 

“This is Alexandrina’s first written heritage strategy, and the draft is a first for a regional council. At present, Adelaide City Council and Port Adelaide Enfield Council are the only councils in the State with written heritage strategies. 

“The concept was conceived in 2020 and our current draft strategy and action plan has come about after detailed investigations and considerable research, which is outlined in our Heritage Alexandrina Background and Research Paper 2022. 

“We believe Alexandrina could set the standard for heritage management within regional South Australia. 

“The draft strategy sets out our strategic direction while the action plan details the steps that Council can take while supporting businesses, community groups and individuals to play their part in the preservation and activation of our heritage. 

“These steps include short-term actions such as completing a register of Council-owned and managed heritage items to longer-term actions such as finding grant funding for digital cataloguing for local museums. 

“Overall, we aim to demonstrate best practice heritage management, capitalise on the opportunities for heritage tourism and preserve and protect built heritage.” 

The Heritage Alexandrina Background and Research Paper 2022 identified 1,467 heritage items across the region, including the State Heritage areas and Historic Area Overlays in Goolwa, Strathalbyn, Port Elliot, and Middleton. 

Alexandrina Council is the custodian of a significant percentage of local and State Heritage-listed places. 

The council owns or manages 19 of 91 State Heritage listed items, 22 of the 189 items in the Goolwa State Heritage Area and 19 of the 689 items in the Strathalbyn Historic Area Overlay. 

Face-to-face community information sessions on the Draft Heritage Strategy and Action Plan 2023-2030 have been held in Strathalbyn and Goolwa. 

A third information session will be held at Port Elliot on Tuesday, 17 October from 10am to 12noon, at the Port Elliot Council Chambers. 

For more information on the plan, visit the council’s My Say website.