Call for tough penalties after illegal Carlton pub demolition

UPDATE: ASBESTOS has been discovered at the site of the unauthorised demolition of a 19th century heritage pub in Carlton on the weekend.

The Corkman Irish Pub in Carlton was demolished on the weekend.

ASBESTOS has been discovered at the site of the heritage Corkman Irish Pub in Carlton, which was illegally demolished by “cowboy developers” on the weekend.

The Environment Protection Authority (EPA), in a statement, said the presence of asbestos had been found in tests of demolition and construction waste at Leicester St.

EPA metro manager Daniel Hunt said the site owner, already at odds with Government, will be issued with a notice, held accountable and required to prevent any leaks.

“EPA will work with its co-regulators, including WorkSafe, the Victorian Building Authority and the City of Melbourne, to ensure both public health and the local environment are protected,” Mr Hunt said.

“EPA is continuing it attempts to contact the site owners to inform them of the penalties that can apply if construction and demolition waste from the site is disposed of illegally.

“Anyone who dumps construction and demolition waste — or permits its illegal disposal — faces a fine of more than $7,500 or up to $758,350 if prosecuted.”

The pub being demolished. Picture: Jeremy Masters / Facebook

The pile of rubble where the pub once stood. Picture: David Crosling

The 19th century Corkman Irish Pub, protected by a heritage overlay, was demolished without council permits.

The State Government previously said it would consider higher penalties for the illegal demolition of heritage buildings after the building was demolished, with Premier Daniel Andrews foreshadowing serious fines over the action.

Built in 1857, the Corkman Irish Pub — formerly the Carlton Inn — was damaged by fire 10 days ago and local residents reported demolition works starting last Saturday.

Nearby residents snapped this picture as they watched the pub get knocked down. Picture: Supplied

Jay Kim watched the illegal demolition unfold. Picture: David Crosling

Planning Minister Richard Wynne said it was unacceptable that the Corkman was flattened despite a Melbourne City Council notice. Picture: David Crosling

Planning Minister Richard Wynne described the pub’s demolition as a “very sad day” for Melbourne.

“These cowboy developers have shown complete contempt for the planning process by demolishing this quite important heritage pub,” he said.

“It was a 147-year-old hotel that was on this site, a site in a heritage overlay area.

“They had no permission to demolish this site and they have no planning permission to build a new development on this site.

“I believe (it is a) contemptuous way in which these cowboy developers have acted ... and indeed I think they should feel the full force of the penalties that are available to the City of Melbourne.”

It has been reported that the work was carried out by a firm that is part-owned by one of the owners of the pub site.

Mr Wynne said he would investigate increasing the maximum fine for illegal commercial demolition, which currently stands at $200,000.

“This developer clearly thinks he can add the penalty cost of $200,000 to the development so I’m going to have a really good look at these penalties,” Mr Wynne said.

“While $200,000 is a significant amount for a residential development, it’s not much for a commercial development like this.

“This is not a common practice to find this type of rogue behaviour.”

A City of Melbourne statement said the two-storey rendered brick hotel was constructed in the mid 1880s and was covered by a heritage overlay.

“(On Saturday) calls were received from residents complaining about demolition noise from the site. On attendance it was found that the building had been all but demolished,” the statement said.

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“The owner/demolisher were unable to provide a demolition building permit. They were instructed to cease demolition work immediately and a stop work order was issued.”

Neither a planning permit or building permit have been issued for the demolition of the building and there are no approved plans for its future development.”

Mr Andrews said the owners of the historic pub could face “very significant fines”.

“It is alleged that they have completely ignored the heritage controls that are in place over this particular building,” he said.

“If you ignore the law then you will feel the full force of the law ... These laws are not there to be ignored.”

The council was investigating the matter and would take appropriate enforcement action.

Mr Wynne said he hoped the council “throws the book” at the property owner.

“We will investigate whether existing penalties are tough enough to deter property owners from knocking down heritage buildings,” he said.

Lord Mayor Robert Doyle was equally shocked by the demolition.

“This is the most brazen and wanton act of destructive vandalism that I have seen in my time as Lord Mayor,” he said.

“Both the minister and I are outraged.

Lord Mayor Robert Doyle and Planning Minister Richard Wynne are outraged. Picture: David Crosling

“I’m actually hopeful that the penalties are a bit more severe than first thought.”

Opposition planning spokesman David Davis said fining the developers would be like “thrashing them with a wet lettuce”.

“Richard Wynne claims the penalty might be around $200,000. This is the equivalent of a parking ticket to a millionaire,” Mr Davis said.

He said the government should instead consider forcing the developers to rebuild the pub’s original facade or banning them from being given future permits.

“Daniel Andrews needs to stand up and take the initiative to protect our heritage assets,” Mr Davis said.

Greens MP Ellen Sandell said the developers who destroyed the Corkman Pub should be forced to rebuild it.

She urged the government to introduce tougher penalties to protect heritage-listed buildings.

“This piece of Melbourne’s heritage was demolished illegally for personal gain. That isn’t right and the government needs to take action to stop this happening again,” Ms Sandell said.

“Current penalties are clearly inadequate. If they aren’t increased, developers will wear fines as a cost of doing business and we will keep losing priceless historic buildings.”

City councillor Jackie Watts, who is seeking re-election on the Team Morgan ticket, said it was hard to protect Melbourne’s heritage when such incidents could occur so easily.

“We don’t have enough rigour in our preservation policies,” she said.

Victoria Police said the fire on October 8 was being treated as suspicious and remained under investigation by North Melbourne Crime Investigation Unit detectives.

Anyone with information about the blaze is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.