Three worker houses on Wangaratta's Bruck Court could be added to a Victorian Heritage Register protecting them from future demolition.

It comes after an interim protection order [IPO] was placed on Bruck House and the caretaker's quarters following a council decision to allow the demolition of the latter to make way for new worker accommodation.

This followed a successful application to Wangaratta council by Bruck Textiles [owned by The Bart Group] to demolish the caretaker's quarters, making way for the construction of seven two-storey units.

Now numbers 5, 7, and 9 Bruck Court have been added to the application.

Next door neighbour to the intended development, Chris Spencer is against the plans as she believes the new development will ruin the historical precinct which encompasses five buildings connected to Bruck Textile's history, including her home.

"I think it's important to have the whole precinct listed as it was intended, not to have it spoilt or not to have the streetscape altered," Ms Spencer said.

"If the units were built out the back on Frank Hayes Drive [adjacent industrial estate], I think there would be less issues.

"We want the street to stay the same and putting in a new, modern, metal building doesn't fit."

The Bart Group has also indicated that the caretaker's quarters are beyond repair but Ms Spencer said residents and others believe they could be repaired.

"I think it's the only example of worker housing certainly up in North East Victoria," she said.

"When I first heard the news of this in mid-2025 I was shocked and disappointed."

In its previous application to have an IPO enacted, Tony Isaacson from the Robyn Boyd Foundation said the caretaker's quarters were at imminent risk of loss.

"The Heritage Council's report states that it might be a prima facie case as it might be of state heritage significance, so the test is that it is of state not just local significance," he said.

Protect Bruck Court group member Claire Russell also contested claims by an architect representing Philip Bart, [The Age, 14 February] that the caretaker's quarters were not designed by Robin Boyd.

She said contract drawings detail all buildings were built in 1954.

The Robin Boyd Foundation has also lodged an application to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal [VCAT] to appeal council's decision to allow demolition of the caretaker's quarters and construction of the seven units.