Damage caused by massive Buckingham Arms fire revealed

The damage caused by a massive fire at the historic Buckingham Arms hotel has been revealed as the developer weighs in on the site’s future.

The heritage-listed portion of the historic Buckingham Arms hotel has been spared extensive damage after fire swept through the building on Saturday but the newer parts of the pub have been destroyed, according to the site’s developer.

Citify managing director Joel Wilkinson said in a social media post that an “initial external inspection of the property’’ had revealed the damage but more detail would be known once engineers had gained access to the inside of the structure.

“We can confirm that while much of the newer parts of the building have been destroyed, the local heritage-listed pub appears to be structurally sound despite suffering smoke damage,’’ Mr Wilkinson said.

The Buckingham Arms Hotel has been spared extensive damage after a fire on Saturday and appears to be structurally sound. Picture: Dean Martin

“This will be verified by our engineers once we are granted access.’’

The blaze broke out at the 1846-built Buckingham Arms Hotel, at the corner of Walkerville and Northcote terraces in Gilberton, about 11am on Saturday, resulting in road closures and traffic diversions.

The MFS advised locals to stay inside and close doors and windows.

Locals have been divided over plans for a 10-storey apartment project on the site, including adapting the historic building as a restaurant.

Developer Citify has put forward a new plan for the Buckingham Arms Hotel apartments after the original plan was rejected. Picture: Supplied

Citify’s original $150m, 182-apartment plan, with three interlinked towers, was rejected in March by the State Commission Assessment Panel, which said its scale and design “negatively impacts the existing local heritage place”.

Citify is appealing that rejection in the Environment, Resources and Development Court.

In the meantime it has put forward two alternatives. One is for a revised apartment project of the same 32m height but with slightly fewer dwellings and significantly altered design with varied setbacks to address community concerns.

A police spokesperson said the cause of the fire was still under investigation. Picture: Supplied

Mr Wilkinson said despite the fire damage “it remains our intention, as outlined in the multiple development applications we have submitted, to retain and restore the historic pub and to incorporate it into our future development plans’’.

“Our team has been working, and will continue to work, through the logistics of what is required to make safe, secure and protect the heritage portion of the building and ensure that it can be restored for future generations to enjoy,’’ he said.

Mr Wilkinson said he could not speculate on the cause of the fire but thanked “MFS personnel, police and emergency services for their immense efforts under challenging hot conditions to bring the blaze under control and prevent it from spreading to adjoining premises’’.

A police spokesperson said the cause of the fire was still under investigation.

Originally published as Damage caused by massive Buckingham Arms fire revealed