A new era of South Australia’s history will be given heritage protections with the adoption of a new code amendment that will preserve the unique character of twentieth-century suburbs.

The Minister for Planning has now adopted the Inter-War Housing Heritage code amendment by the City of Norwood, Payneham and St Peters, which will protect 20 rare homes as well as an area of the suburb of Heathpool that reflect the area’s history from the 1920s through 1940s.

Until now, many of the council’s heritage rules only protected very old buildings from the 1800s or early 1900s. Now, significant housing contributions from the 20th century that shape local history and identity today will be afforded protections.

Before now, homes built in the inter-war period - with styles from the 1920s and 1930s, like Tudor, Spanish Mission, Art Deco and Californian Bungalow - could be demolished within these suburbs because they didn’t have special protection.

The code amendment was initiated by the City of Norwood, Payneham and St. Peters and was adopted following consultation with the community and heritage experts.

The new protections will apply to 20 rare homes from this period within the suburbs of St Peters, College Park, Hackney, Marden, Marryatville and Maylands.

Some properties next door to these new Local Heritage Places will get a ‘heritage adjacency overlay’, meaning even if they aren’t special themselves, anything done to them has to be sensitive to the heritage properties nearby.

On top of this, a section of the suburb Heathpool, which has lots of Inter-War homes grouped together, will become a Historic Area Overlay, meaning strict protection for about 32 properties, so the overall look and feel of the streets stays historic.

The State Government has been committed to honouring and protecting Adelaide’s rich history, including by granting up to $600,000 to local councils to enhance preservation of South Australia’s valued sites and streetscapes.