It’s been more than seven years after the popular pub in inner Melbourne was illegally demolished by developers. But could the Corkman Hotel rise again? There is an ongoing battle over what will happen at the site of the beloved and historic Carlton pub, which was illegally demolished in 2016, exposing weaknesses in the Victoria’s heritage protections and sparked political debate over planning laws.
The developers at the centre of the controversy, Raman Shaqiri and Stefce Kutlesovski, have sought to build a new hotel at the site – but last week flagged that the building’s original facade may soon be rebuilt.
This is despite them seeking more time to secure a planning permit to build a new hotel on the site, after missing a June 2022 deadline.
That deadline was part of an order issued by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (Vcat). Under the order, they are required to rebuild the Corkman Hotel’s original facade if that deadline wasn’t met.
A spokesperson for the developers’ company, 160 Leicester Pty Ltd, told Guardian Australia that they had no issues complying with the requirements of the enforcement order.
“The directors have accepted that they will need to rebuild the facade, against the professional advice received, and will likely provide the use of the building to a charitable organisation as a soup kitchen, drop-in centre or similar,” the spokesperson said.
But how that may affect their plans for the site, lodged with the city of Melbourne last year, remains unknown.
The spokesperson says that since lodging the development application they had received “no feedback” to the plans.
Under those plans, by Six Degrees Architects, a three-storey hotel would be built with a rooftop terrace, which the developers argue would reference the demolished pub.
Their development application prompted the National Trust of Australia’s Victorian branch to criticise the developers for not consulting the community – although it said overall it was a “pleasing application”.
Guardian Australia has confirmed that the planning controls on the site require approval by the state’s planning minister for any redevelopment.
Historical impacts
The 159-year-old Irish pub, opposite the University of Melbourne’s law school, had been a popular student drinking hole and its loss left a mark on the student cohort. The developers bought the pub and its 456 sq metres of land in 2014 for $4.76m, with reported plans to convert it into an apartment building up to 12 storeys high.
While not on the Victorian Heritage Register, it was covered by heritage rules.
After it was demolished, the government initially suggested the pub would be rebuilt, which the developers committed to, before backtracking in 2019 and acknowledging it would not be possible because an enforcement order under planning laws was not “legally sound”.
The National Trust of Australia’s Victorian branch says the ongoing delay for the developers to “rectify the community loss of the Corkman is deeply concerning”.
The trust says the case is a reminder the state’s current laws are “not equipped to require the reconstruction of the building”.
The stalled development application is the latest twist in a saga that has dragged through Victoria’s courts for years.
Kutlesovski and Shaqiri were fined $1.1m in the county court in 2019 for demolishing the Irish pub in 2016 without planning approval in 2016.
In 2021, the state’s highest court dismissed their legal challenge to a month-long prison sentence and a $150,000 fine for 160 Leicester, ordering them to serve 30 days behind bars.
The pair had attempted to appeal against the sentence, arguing that the penalties were excessive and that they had spent $1.6m developing the site into a park, as part of a deal struck by the state government. Their lawyers argued they were sorry for their conduct.
In 2017, the government brought in tough new laws in response to the Corkman’s demolition, creating five-year jail terms and increased fines for developers who demolished heritage buildings.
In 2021, the Victorian parliament passed legislation aimed at preventing another Corkman incident from happening.
What resolution will emerge for the site is not known but the trust is advocating for a design that “gives back to the community” architecturally and socially and is a place of gathering and entertainment.
