Corkman Irish Pub demolition: charges laid over illegal Carlton knock down

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COWBOY builders who demolished a 159-year-old Carlton pub have been hit with a string of charges over the illegal demolition.

The Victorian Building Authority (VBA) and the City of Melbourne have jointly laid 16 charges against those involved in the demolition of the Corkman Irish Pub in Leicester St last October.

Stefce Kutlesovski, Raman Shaqiri and the company that owns the property, 160 Leicester Pty Ltd, all face multiple charges for their involvement in the demolition of the historic pub, which was within a heritage overlay area.

If the maximum penalties were applied against the pair and their company, they would face fines approaching $2 million.

Charges include demolishing without a building permit, failing to comply with an order to stop building work, carrying out demolition work while unregistered, and contraventions of the planning legislation.

The demolished Corkman Irish Pub. AAP Image/Tracey Nearmy

The Corkman Irish Pub before the demolition.

The maximum penalties for these charges range from $3,109 to almost $400,000 per offence.

Waste, including asbestos from the pub, was later found on another site the pair owned in Cairnlea.

The VBA and the City of Melbourne have jointly filed charges at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court this morning following a comprehensive three-month investigation.

A summary of the charges are as follows:

Mr Kutlesovski faces six charges including demolition without a building permit, holding himself out as a demolisher when he was not registered, failing to comply with an order to stop building work, demolishing a building in contravention of the planning legislation, carrying out demolition without 48-hours written notice to the Melbourne City Council and carrying out building work (demolition) outside permissible hours.

Mr Shaqiri faces five charges including permitting the demolition of a building without a building permit, failing to comply with an order to stop building work, failing to exercise due diligence to prevent the demolition of a building without the requisite consent required under planning legislation, carrying out demolition without providing 48-hours prior written notice to the Melbourne City Council, and carrying out building work (demolition) outside of permissible hours.

Stefce Kutlesovski is facing multiple charges. Picture: Hamish Blair

Lord Mayor Robert Doyle said the 16 charges made against the developers were ‘serious’.

“These are very serious charges carrying very serious fines,” he told media this afternoon.

“Everything from demolishing a building, to being without a permit, to failing to observe a stop work order, and everything in between.”

Mr Doyle hoped laying charges against developers would lead to the reopening of the pub.

“It’s not that we want to go into court to punish people as a consequence of what they have done, what we’d really like to see is The Corkman reinstated and that is possible.”

“So what we should be aiming for is not just to ensure there are consequences to this, what I believe, illegal demolition of a landmark like The Corkman, but a process put in train which we would support at The City of Melbourne... to see The Corkman rebuilt as far as possible.”

Mr Doyle believed the remaining plastered facade of the building could be reused in its redevelopment.

Planning Minister Richard Wynne was hopeful the developers would fulfil their promise of rebuilding the pub.

“We expect them to abide by the undertakings that were made to me,” he said.

Mr Wynne said despite changes to the maximum penalty cowboy developers could be fined, those changes wouldn’t apply to The Corkman pub developers.

“We want to ensure that the message is very clear: if you are going to illegally, in our view, demolish this building there will be repercussions for that. These charges attract very extensive fines. If all 16 charges are proven in the magistrates court, there are potential fines that run well in excess of $1 million dollars.”

160 Leicester Pty Ltd, of which Mr Kutlesovski and Mr Shaqiri are both directors, also faces five charges.

They are as the owner of the land at 154-160 Leicester Street, Carlton, it permitted the demolition of a building without a building permit, failing to comply with an order to stop building work, demolishing a building in contravention of the planning legislation, carrying out demolition without providing 48-hours prior written notice to the Melbourne City Council and carrying out building work (demolition) outside of permissible hours.

Further charges are under consideration.

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