Planning tribunal orders Corkman Irish Pub site owners to clean up their mess

Developers who illegally knocked down an old Carlton pub have been ordered to clean up the site. But will they have to rebuild the 19th century hotel?

Developers who illegally demolished a 19th-century Carlton pub have been ordered to prepare the site as a park before redeveloping it.

But Raman Shaqiri and Stefce Kutlesovski may not have to actually rebuild the Corkman Irish Pub provided they propose another suitable project within a timeframe.

The Corkman pub in Carlton.

Mr Shaqiri and Mr Kutlesovski have already been handed a record $1.325 million in fines for knocking down the pub in Leicester St without planning approval in 2016.

However, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal has now issued orders for the site’s future following applications by Planning Minister Richard Wynne and the City of Melbourne.

VCAT has ordered that by November 30, 2019, the site be cleared of all materials and evidence shown it will be suitable for temporary use as an outdoor recreation space.

The tribunal further ordered that if a planning permit to appropriately redevelop the site isn’t obtained by June 30, 2022, the developers must use new materials to rebuild the external parts of the hotel, such as roof, chimneys and external facades.

The remains of the Corkman pub after its demolition in 2016.

Mr Wynne said the result was a win for the community, and a lesson to developers.

“Our heritage is our history, and it has to be protected, it belongs to all Victorians,” he said.

“These cowboy developers have already been subject to record fines - this order requires them to make good on the site and sets strict controls on any future developments.”

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But the National Trust of Victoria chief executive Simon Ambrose said the organisation was disappointed that the future of the former Corkman site remained uncertain.

“If this is the best we can do under our current laws, we need to change that,” he said.

“We encourage members of the community to have their say in the planning process, once a planning application is put forward to council.”

Any future development of the site will need approval from the Minister for Planning and will be subject to public exhibition and community comment.

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