Removing a pool from a heritage property in Bowral, Berrima, Mittagong or the villages of Wingecarribee isn’t just a demolition project, it’s an opportunity to restore landscape character that may have been displaced when the pool was originally installed, often decades ago. The Southern Highlands has some of the most significant heritage residential precincts in regional NSW, and the gardens that surround these properties are as much a part of their heritage value as the buildings themselves.
This guide focuses on what happens after the pool is gone: how to approach the restored space in a way that complements the heritage character of your home, and what Wingecarribee Shire Council’s heritage framework expects when significant landscaping changes are made to listed properties.
Quick Answer (BLUF)
After pool removal on a heritage property in Bowral or Berrima, the landscaping should reinforce the formal, structured garden character typical of Federation, Edwardian and interwar homes in these towns. Heritage gardens in these precincts typically feature clipped hedges, formal lawn areas, established trees, cottage perennials and stone or brick edging. Modern pool-era materials like exposed aggregate, glass pool fencing and rendered surrounds should be removed or replaced with period-appropriate alternatives.
Understanding Heritage Landscape Character in the Southern Highlands
Bowral’s heritage residential precincts, including many streets in the town centre and on the slopes of Gibraltar Hill, are defined by their late nineteenth and early twentieth century character. Properties are set back from the street behind established gardens, often featuring:
- Formal hedging using English Box (Buxus sempervirens), Yew (Taxus baccata), or Photinia
- Clipped topiary and shaped trees as focal points
- Broad lawn areas, the cool Highlands climate means lawns stay green through summer without the irrigation demands of Sydney
- Established deciduous trees, elms, oaks, liquidambars, maples and chestnuts that give the region its spectacular autumn colour
- Stone or brick edging for garden beds, using local materials
- Vegetable and cutting gardens in rear gardens, often behind formal screens
Berrima’s heritage precinct is even older, the village was gazetted in the 1820s, and its residential gardens typically reflect a more vernacular, cottage-style character with dry-stone walls, unpaved paths and informal plantings mixed with productive kitchen gardens.
Heritage Approval Requirements for Landscaping
If your property is listed on the State Heritage Register or in a local heritage conservation area under the Wingecarribee Local Environmental Plan, significant changes to the landscape may require approval. This typically includes:
- Removal of established trees (also subject to Council’s tree preservation order framework)
- Construction of new hard landscaping structures (walls, pathways, pergolas)
- Changes to the front garden that alter the streetscape character
For the area left by pool removal, which is usually in the rear or side garden, soft landscaping like lawn, garden beds and planting is generally exempt from heritage approval requirements. However, if you’re installing retaining walls, steps, or other structures, check with Council’s heritage team or your certifier.
The heritage approval process for pool removal itself is covered in detail in our heritage conservation area pool removal guide.
Removing Pool-Era Infrastructure
Before you can create a heritage-sympathetic garden, you need to address the pool-era infrastructure that typically surrounds the pool:
Pool fencing. Aluminium tubular pool fencing and glass panel fencing are conspicuously modern. Once the pool is removed and the fencing is no longer legally required, removing it entirely is usually the right choice for a heritage property. Consider replacing any necessary boundary fencing with timber post-and-rail, painted timber picket, or stone and mortar walls appropriate to your home’s period.
Concrete surrounds. Pool decks in concrete or pavers rarely match the material palette of the heritage home. Breaking up and removing concrete surrounds creates the opportunity to introduce period-appropriate paving, sandstone slabs, brick pavers, or simply extending the lawn area.
Equipment enclosures. Pool pump rooms and equipment sheds are often utilitarian structures that don’t add to the heritage character. Their removal opens up additional usable garden space.
Landscaping Approaches by Heritage Period
Federation and Edwardian (1890-1920)
Federation homes in Bowral’s heritage precincts typically had formal rear gardens divided into a lawn area for entertaining, a kitchen garden for produce, and utility space. After pool removal, consider:
- A central lawn panel framed by clipped hedges of English Box or Photinia
- A cutting garden with roses, peonies, dahlias and delphiniums along a sunny fence
- A pergola or arbour in timber with climbing roses, a Federation-era staple
- Brick or stone path edging using salvaged materials where possible
Interwar (1920-1945)
Interwar homes (many in Bowral’s residential streets and on rural-residential properties approaching Mittagong and Moss Vale) often had more relaxed garden styles influenced by the arts and crafts movement:
- Informal garden beds with herbaceous perennials and shrub roses
- Mixed borders combining structure (clipped shapes) with soft, cottage-style planting
- A productive garden area, the interwar period strongly favoured home food production
- Fruit trees trained against fences or walls
Colonial and Georgian (Berrima precinct)
Berrima’s oldest properties call for the most restrained landscape approach:
- Dry-stone or mortared sandstone walls as garden structure
- Unpaved or lightly gravelled paths in local crushed stone
- Heritage vegetable garden layouts with timber-framed raised beds
- Simple lawn areas kept to a minimum, with more emphasis on productive planting
Plant Selection for the Highlands Climate
Any heritage garden in the Southern Highlands must work with the climate, cold winters, reliable frosts, occasional snow at higher elevations, and wet winters followed by warm, dry summers. Fortunately, the plants that define heritage Highlands gardens are precisely those that thrive in cool-temperate conditions:
Trees: English oak, pin oak, silver birch, liquidambar, weeping elm, hawthorn Hedging: English Box, Yew, Portuguese laurel, clipped pittosporum Perennials: Peonies, delphiniums, lupins, aquilegias, hostas, hellebores Roses: Old-fashioned shrub roses, climbing roses on arches and fences Productive: Apples, pears, quince, raspberries, rhubarb, asparagus
FAQs
Do I need heritage approval to plant a garden after pool removal?
Soft landscaping, lawns, garden beds, planting, is generally exempt from heritage approval on both listed properties and those in heritage conservation areas. Hard landscaping structures like walls, paved areas, pergolas and similar features may require approval if they’re visible from the street or form a significant alteration to the property’s character. Check with WSC’s heritage planning team if in doubt.
Can I use the removed pool concrete in the garden as feature stone?
Crushed pool concrete (often called “rubble”) can be used as drainage aggregate beneath garden beds but is not visually appropriate as feature stone in a heritage garden. The rough, grey-coloured concrete rubble doesn’t match the sandstone, basalt or brick materials typical of Highlands heritage properties. If you want stone features, source local sandstone or basalt from a landscape supplier.
How long does it take for the restored garden area to look established?
With the right planting approach, a restored rear garden can look intentional and well-established within one to two seasons. Fast-establishing hedging plants like Portuguese laurel and Photinia will provide structure in year one. Perennials and roses establish well in their second year. For a truly mature garden aesthetic, the trees and established hedging will take five to ten years, but the process of creating that garden is part of the heritage restoration story.
Should I get a heritage garden designer?
For significant properties, particularly those on the State Heritage Register or with identified heritage garden elements, engaging a landscape designer with heritage experience is worthwhile. They can help ensure the new landscape is sympathetic to Council’s heritage documentation for the property and can manage any approval processes required. For less formal properties in conservation areas, a good understanding of the period and climate is usually sufficient.