Council ignores clear cladding cautions and agrees to lease dangerous space at southeast yacht club
Things had been looking up for a trouble-plagued seaside yacht club, with a new cafe set to open for summer. But that’s been put on hold after a potentially deadly problem was found at the site — and Frankston Council knew about it before agreeing to lease it out.
South East
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Frankston Council agreed to lease the ground floor of the troubled $11 million Frankston Yacht Club despite being warned the building was probably built with flammable cladding.
The council pushed ahead with negotiations for a new cafe even after the Municipal Building Surveyor had flagged the possibility.
Plans for the eatery — which was due to open for the busy summer season — have now been halted after a recent inspection confirmed it had combustible cladding.
Mayor Michael O’Reilly said they agreed to the lease “in good faith” assuming there’d be a fix to the problem before the business moved in.
More than $11 million has been poured into the seaside property, which has struggled to draw anticipated crowds due to incomplete construction works, multiple project changes and a failure to lease the first floor.
Mayor Michael O’Reilly said the council was advised that any permit associated with future fit-outs would best be determined by the state government’s building appeals board, but an outcome is not expected until late this year.
“While we were aware of the issue before we went out for expressions of interest …
we hoped a solution would be reached more quickly and therefore advertised in good faith,” he said.
“Unfortunately, (and) based on expert advice, this is not the case and we are unable to proceed.”
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Frankston Council has engaged fire engineers to find solutions, and said those who use the third level and boat storage yard have been made aware of the situation.
“We realise this news will disappoint and frustrate many in our community however
it is imperative we ensure all sections of the building are compliant before we
can issue any form of occupancy permit to a potential hospitality business,” Mr O’Reilly said.
“Once the cladding concerns have been resolved, council would continue its efforts to activate the building for the community to enjoy.”
The building has been plagued by problems for the past three years.
The council “finished” the $10.7 million building in 2016, but did not install airconditioning or complete the flooring or ceiling upstairs, meaning restaurateurs refused to become tenants due to the huge fit-out costs.
In August 2017, councillors vote to spend $345,000 on modifications including alterations to windows on the lower level.
A month later an auditor’s report revealed the building had been hampered by multiple changes to the project and the lead consultant not being contracted to do anything other than the concept drawings.