Contesting Characters at Hedgeley Dene

Abstract

Over the past decade, 'neighbourhood character' has come to occupy a pre-eminent position within the Victorian planning system. Its rise has been accompanied by increasing contestation about what it is and how - even if - it should be regulated. This paper examines the case of the Hedgeley Dene precinct in East Malvern, the first place in Victoria deemed to have a 'character' warranting the special protection of a 'Neighbourhood Character Overlay.' The Overlay ostensibly enacts agreement – between residents, consultants, planners, and local and state government - concerning the particular 'character' in need of protection. Yet analysis of associated documents and interviews with key players reveals that parties to this 'agreement' were only sometimes talking about the same 'thing'. Employing insights from actor-network theory, we explore the different modes of existence of 'character' in this case, and the manner in which they intersect, overlap, and interfere with one another.