Many people think that new buildings must be more green but things are never as simple as they seem.

The message of “reuse, recycle, reduce” equally applies to our built environment and housing choices.

A good example of the reuse/recycling of heritage buildings is the Warrnambool Woollen Mills.

It demonstrates that reuse and recycling of buildings is possible and provides environmental sustainability benefits including:

* reduced energy usage associated with demolition, waste disposal and new construction; and

* promotion of sustainable development by conserving the embodied energy (energy used to make a product) in the existing building.

It is clear that retaining heritage buildings is environmentally friendly — but does is come at a social cost?

I hear people make statements that a heritage listing means that nothing can ever change and that you can’t even change a washer in that dripping tap.

My sources tell me this is far from true.

While conservation of heritage places makes an important contribution to the environmental, social and economic sustainability of a city, the permit assessment processes allows the adaptation of buildings so that disabled access and safety requirements can be met.

A large majority of heritage controls focus on the appearance of a property from the street or a public place.

The heritage rules can allow people to include the following inclusions in their homes without the need for a permit (where these works are not visible from the street):

* solar electric panels;

* rainwater catchment tanks;

* greywater treatment and recycling systems;

* double-glazed windows for insulation; and

* solar hot water systems.

If you want to include these things in your home but in a place where they would be visible they may still be allowed under the heritage rules.

Council planners give consideration to the impact on the significance of the property (or what makes the place special) and the ‘reversibility’ of the action.