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Series VPRS
11200
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Building Application Plans
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| Date Range: |
Series |
1916 - cont |
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Series in Custody |
1916 - 1958 |
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Contents |
1916 - 1958 |
| Public Access: |
Open |
| Location: |
North Melbourne |
| Format of Records: |
Physical |
  | Agency which created this SeriesAgency which created this Series |
| Agency currently responsible for this SeriesAgency currently responsible for this Series |
| Description of this SeriesDescription of this Series |
- How to use the Records
The building plans are arranged in building application number order. Building application numbers can be obtained from the Building Application Index (VPRS 11202).
The Index is divided into two parts: city and suburbs. It is arranged in alpha-numeric order by street address. Each index card has all the relevant Building Application numbers on it and the type of work done. Make a note of the Building Application number, and then select the relevant unit from the Records Description List.
Function / Content
This series contains building plans submitted to the Council as part of a building application made by an owner.
The series includes building plans on paper and on aperture cards (microform):
BA 1 - 33840 (1916 - 1959): paper plans; and
BA 33841 - 46563 (1960 - 1974): aperture cards and so on as plans are filmed.
Building plans are related to and form part of Building Application Files. Individuals or bodies were required to seek the approval of the Council to build a new building or to renovate an existing building. Building plans are part of the documentation that is submitted by the owner for the approval of the Council.
Prior to 1916 it was sufficient for an owner to notify the Council Building Surveyor of his or her intention to build. The notification consisted of a one page document. In 1915 building regulations were changed and subsequently owners were required to submit building plans and specifications which had to be approved by the Council.
Legislation
Municipalities were empowered under the Local Government Act 1915, s.198 and Thirteenth Schedule, Part V, to make by-laws regulating buildings, hoardings, etc. Under this legislation regulations could be made by councils in respect to the size of the buildings, the siting of buildings, the materials used in construction, and so on. Building regulations were covered in ensuing local government acts.
By-laws and regulations made by the Melbourne City Council may be found in VPRS 8911 Proceedings of Council Meetings, VPRS 9445 By-Laws, and VPRS 9446 Rules and Regulations.
- Function / Content
- Recordkeeping System
The Building Application number governs the arrangement of plans in this series.
When a building application was first received by the Councils Building Department, it was given an individual identification number that became the building application number. The building application number was a sequential number (1, 2, 3, etc.,) which followed on from year to year, prefixed by the letters BA.
Building applications consisted of an application and plans. The application was filed separately from the building plans (see VPRS 11201). Although they were filed separately, the files and plans were both arranged in building application number order. All subsequent correspondence relating to a particular building application was filed under the relevant building application number.
At the time (1997) of the transfer of this series to the Public Record Office, staff of the Building Department did not know of the existence of any registers from which the building application numbers were allocated. Perhaps the next available number was allocated by reference to the last building application file on the shelf. (Note that there were some books (4 or 5) in the Building Department which recorded the progress of building approvals. Entries were made in building application number order, with dates recorded on charts when approval was granted, letters were sent, final inspection made, if lapsed, etc. These books cover building application numbers 55441 to 67185, 1982-1989 only.)
Integral to this recordkeeping system is the Index (VPRS 11202), which was arranged in street address order. The index was divided into two parts: city and suburbs. The cards were arranged in alpha-numeric order by street name and property number.
The index cards include the building applications made in relation to each property, the date of the application and the monetary value of the works to be undertaken. Without reference to the Index, it would be almost impossible to retrieve a building application for a particular property.
It is through the index that the user can identify the building application or applications (files and/or plans) for the property in which he or she is interested.
Between 1916 and 1959 the plans are on paper only (BA 1 to 33840). From 1960 onward plans were microfilmed in order of application and the aperture cards were arranged in building application number order (BA 33841 continuing).
In 1995 the hardcopy plans dating from 1950 were destroyed under Destruction Authority D95/105. The main grounds for the destruction of the plans were:
the increase in the volume of plans from 1960 onwards. Due to the volume, storage of these plans proved to be increasingly difficult and expensive for the Council;
that changes in the components of plans (both paper and dye) from about 1960 onwards meant that the medium was unstable, and could not be relied upon in the future, and;
the Council had found that their needs for information contained in the plans could be satisfied by use of the microform (aperture cards). Paper copies could be made from the aperture cards as required.
Key: [F] - Footings [C] - Correspondence [S] - Specifications
[O] - Other [DP] - Different plans for same BA number
P1, P2 and P3 Consignments
The division of plans into P1 and P2 consignments was based on the size of the plans. Larger plans were placed in plan tubes in the P1 consignment; smaller plans were placed in D boxes in the P2 consignment.
The P3 consignment contains two plans which were found at a later date.
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