New plan to tear down part of landmark Brissie pub
It has survived two fires, vandalism and neglect. But now the owner of this historic pub says parts of it can’t be saved and must be bulldozed.
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The owner of the landmark inner Brisbane pub the Broadway Hotel has floated a new plan to knock down a WWII air raid shelter and other buildings on the site.
But Malcolm Nyst’s plans may never happen, as the State Government currently has its ninth, 60-day stop order in place to prevent any demolition.
Councillor Jonathan Sri also said if the “outbuildings’’ were too far gone to be saved, Mr Nyst should be forced to turn them into a mini-park for the public.
“I have strong concerns about demolishing the air raid shelter, because I think this is an important part of our state’s history,’’ Cr Sri said.
“However my broader concern is that whenever part of a State Heritage-listed building is being demolished, the owner should be required to explain what they intend to build there instead.
“It’s quite unusual for someone to apply to demolish part of a heritage-listed building like this without also including details in the application of what new building they are proposing for the site.
“Are we likely to see a massive high-rise tower proposed for the back of this site where the air-raid shelter is currently located?’’
Mr Nyst floated a similar demolition plan one week before the March local government election, but it never went ahead.
That development application claimed the outbuildings were severely damaged by weather, termites and fire and needed to be removed before the rest of the site could be restored.
Mr Nyst previously had an agreement with former Lord Mayor Campbell Newman’s brother-in-law, Seb Monsour, to sell the property.
But the deal was conditional on Mr Monsour gaining approval for a 27-level unit tower, a project now withdrawn.
Stop order issued to prevent demolition
Work to ‘save’ landmark to start in weeks
Broadway fire shows ‘breakdown’ in heritage laws
A Brisbane City Council spokeswoman said the public had a minimum of 15 days to make submissions on the partial demolition plans.
“This is a State Government heritage-listed site, so it is on them as the responsible agency to come out and state whether they support the demolition works,’’ she said.
“The development application for the site is currently under assessment and is now undergoing public notification.’’
The State Government and Council have blamed each other for allowing the continuing decline of the 1889 building, which now has lost its distinctive mansard roof and is being eaten away by rain.
“To date, I have issued nine stop orders to continue protecting the (hotel),’’ Environment Minister Leeanne Enoch said.
“The Palaszczuk Government has acted swiftly to ensure the State Heritage Listed place’s surviving masonry walls are protected from any potential demolition.
“The Broadway Hotel stop orders continue to provide time for decision making about the future of this important heritage place.
“The Department of Environment and Science will provide independent advice regarding the (partial demolition) application to the State Assessment and Referral Agency (SARA), in line with usual processes.”
Cr Sri said he understood SARA was due to make a decision on the demolition application by mid-September.