Historic Great Western Hotel in King St faces demolition

ANOTHER historic inner city pub faces demolition for development because it lacks heritage protection, just months after Carlton’s Corkman pub was pulled down illegally.

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ANOTHER historic inner city pub faces demolition because it lacks heritage protection.

Just months after Carlton’s Corkman pub was pulled down illegally, the Great Western Hotel in the CBD is set to make way for a major development.

A developer has applied to demolish the 1864-built hotel at 204 King St and put up a 26-storey tower with ground level shops.

It was reported last year that the site was sold for about $6.5 million.

Activist group Melbourne Heritage Action said that despite being graded “C” in previous heritage studies, like many historic buildings in the CBD it had never received formal protection. “We are calling on the City of Melbourne to urgently list this early reminder of Melbourne’s history before it’s too late,” it said in a statement.

The Great Western pub in King St faces demolition because it's not heritage listed.

The pub pictured in 1972. Picture: K. J Halla.

“Following on the loss of the Stork Hotel a few years ago and the recent approval of full demolition of the Duke of Kent Hotel, as well as rumours on the fate of the Metropolitan Hotel on William Street, heritage pubs are becoming an endangered species in the CBD.”

The group said this was robbing the city of exactly the kind of social life and mixed use that made apartment living in the city so desirable.

A City of Melbourne spokeswoman said the council had requested further information about the proposal for the Great Western and the applicant had until the end of March to provide information.

“This site last received a heritage assessment in 1993 as part of the Central City Heritage Study Review. However, it has never been included in the Heritage Overlay, which is a planning control that identifies and protects buildings of heritage significance.”

The spokeswoman said that while council would strongly encourage the applicant to retain part or all of the building, “we can only make a decision on this application based on the current planning controls”.

The pub was originally called the Star of the West.

Last year, owners of the Corkman site promised to rebuild the pub and indicated they would secure an operator to run it as a hotel again.

They made the pledges after Planning Minister Richard Wynne launched legal action in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

@JMasanauskas