Politicians move to block Broadway Hotel demolition plans
Plans to demolish two wings of the heritage-listed Broadway Hotel may be blocked as opposition mounts on the proposal.
Southeast
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PLANS to demolish two wings of the derelict Broadway Hotel at Woolloongabba have hit a road block with local politicians opposing the proposal.
Broadway Hotel owner Malcolm Nyst lodged the plans last month in a bid to restore the three-storey section of the hotel on the front corner of the site and to allow a mixed use development on the site.
Councillor Jonathan Sri (The Gabba) intends to put a motion to council next week to reject the application, calling on the council to confirm its support for the preservation of historic buildings around Brisbane.
“It seems neither level of government is particularly supportive of this application so we have to wait and see whether their actions match their words,” Cr Sri said.
“I definitely don’t support it. Some of the site the developer is proposing to demolish such as the World War II air raid shelter and the one and two storey wings of the hotel do have a lot of historic significance.
“If we allow a developer to demolish heritage-listed buildings on the basis that they have fallen into disrepair and then build something else there instead, that is rewarding owners for neglecting heritage properties and would set a concerning precedent.”
Deputy Premier Jackie Trad said she did not support the partial demolition and called on council to reject the application.
“I do not support any demolition or development that would compromise the heritage value of the Broadway Hotel, or go beyond that necessary to protect the heritage value of the site,” Ms Trad said.
“The developer’s own independent assessment shows that demolition included in the DA is beyond what is necessary.
“The owner has owned the Broadway Hotel since 1998. It has sat vacant for 10 years and it’s time they did the work necessary to restore it.”
The developer argues in the proposal that the original sections to be demolished are damaged or less significant to the heritage fabric of the hotel because of fire damage and that the hotel had been altered and extended to suit the changing needs of hotel patrons since it was first built.
PLAN LODGED TO DEMOLISH HOTEL BUILDINGS
OWNER WANTS TO RESTORE DERELICT HOTEL
WORK STARTS TO STABILISE BROADWAY
The 1889 hotel has been left derelict since a fire in 2010 damaged a large portion of the three storey main hotel building and a further fire in September 2018 resulted in further damage to the three storey building and the outer wings.
The developer argues that pre-lodgement advice from council in 2015 on a highrise proposal put forward by Majella Enterprises gave in-principle support to the demolition of the existing hotel single storey wing, two storey wing, air raid shelter and other buildings and structures to the rear of the site.
The Broadway Hotel has been on the Queensland Heritage Register since 1992.
When the application was lodged, then planning chairman Matthew Bourke said the application included a copy of a Heritage Exemption Certificate issued by the State Government, however further information was required from the applicant to determine whether all proposed works are supported by this exemption certificate.
“The application is impact assessable and will be considered against the provisions and requirements of City Plan 2014 and the Planning Act 2016,” he said.
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