Stamford Grand pulls out of Jetty Rd crisis talks with Holdfast Bay Council
The war of words over the $40m Jetty Road debacle has taken a dramatic twist with Stamford Grand boycotting crisis talks with Holdfast Bay Council.
The war of words between Glenelg’s Stamford Grand and the Holdfast Bay Council has erupted, with hotel management pulling out of crisis talks over the Jetty Rd debacle due to the council’s refusal to keep a voice recording of the meeting.
A meeting to discuss the hotel’s request for financial compensation and improved consultation about the $40m project was due to take place on Thursday afternoon, before Stamford’s southern region vice president of operations Andrew Donadel wrote to Holdfast Bay Council chief executive Pamela Jackson notifying her that he would not be attending.
“We write to advise that Stamford will not be attending the meeting scheduled for today,” he wrote in an email sent to Ms Jackson on Thursday afternoon, copying in members of the media, Holdfast Bay Council management and Premier Peter Malinauskas’s office.
“In light of recent public statements concerning our engagements, we require the ability to keep an accurate record of discussions for the sake of clarity and consistency.
“As the request to record the meeting was not agreed to, we feel it is more appropriate for communications to remain in writing at this stage.”
Ms Jackson said she was disappointed with the Stamford’s decision to pull out of the meeting.
“We want to work constructively with the Stamford, and we considered the meeting would have been an important step in restarting our formerly constructive relationship,” she said.
“From council’s perspective, the meeting would have served as a valuable opportunity to hear and understand Stamford’s concerns.
“The usual way in which meetings are conducted with our key stakeholders or members of the community is in private, which is appropriate in this case, given the nature of the discussions requested by Stamford.
“If the Stamford wishes to make a deputation at a meeting of council (which is public), it is invited to make an application to do so.”
Mr Donadel had earlier written to Ms Jackson requesting that the meeting be recorded, because “the council’s previous false and misleading public statements have eroded our confidence that comments made in a private, unrecorded meeting will not be taken out of context or misrepresented”.
The Stamford has been seeking financial compensation in the form of council rate relief following months of disruption caused by upgrades to the Jetty Rd precinct, which have forced the hotel to partially close during peak season and cut hours for staff.
It was hoped Thursday’s meeting would enable the council to further consider the hotel’s request for compensation for traders affected by the roadworks.
The Stamford is now seeking a formal response, in writing by Friday, to its request for rate relief and its threat of legal action over “false and damaging” statements made by council about the hotel’s request for compensation.
However Ms Jackson reiterated in an email to Mr Donadel earlier this week that any compensation was “highly unlikely”.
“Council denies any liability,” she wrote in her email.
“Even if council were willing to make any payment as a gesture of goodwill (which it should be noted is highly unlikely), it would be incumbent upon the Stamford to show an actual audited loss directly caused by the conduct of council. In this regard, any further demands for compensation by you will now be referred to council’s solicitors and dealt with in the ordinary manner of such claims.”
Mr Donadel has been contacted for comment.
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Originally published as Stamford Grand pulls out of Jetty Rd crisis talks with Holdfast Bay Council
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