2016-05-26
Ms PENNICUIK (Southern Metropolitan) — My constituency question is for the Minister for Planning, and it concerns the London Hotel in Port Melbourne. It has recently come to light that the hotel has been issued with a planning permit to enable demolition. There are many in the community, including members of the Port Melbourne Historical and Preservation Society, who have raised concerns about the permit that has been issued by the council. Regardless of whether the council has made a mistake, the council has recently requested that the Minister for Planning step in and issue an interim heritage protection order to cover the building while an urgent heritage reassessment is done. The minister says he is unable to do that as it is not a state significant building. I cannot see that in the act, so I ask the minister to reconsider that decision and to apply an interim protection order on the hotel.
ANSWER on 23 June 2016:
Thank you for your question regarding the London Hotel in Port Melbourne.
A planning permit application (P1313–2015) was lodged with the City of Port Phillip in December 2015, for the construction of a new eight (8) storey apartment building at 92 Beach Street, Port Melbourne. The proposed redevelopment of the site would involve demolition of the existing building. There is currently no Heritage Overlay applied to the site, and accordingly no planning permit is required for demolition.
The applicant has now lodged a Section 79 Application for Review with the Victorian Civil Administrative Tribunal (VCAT), which is listed for hearing on 22 August 2016.
A building permit for demolition has been issued by a private building surveyor dated 25 June 2015.
The City of Port Phillip has requested that I exercise my powers under section 20(4) of the Planning and Environment Act 1987, to apply an interim Heritage Overlay (H0498) to 92 Beach Street, Port Melbourne (London Hotel) through Amendment C128 to the Port Phillip Planning Scheme.
Amendment C128 as an interim measure, proposes to protect the property from demolition while Council undertakes a thorough heritage assessment of the site.
I have received Amendment C128 and the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning are currently assessing Council's request prior to a decision being made.
The Executive Director, Heritage Victoria has not received a request for an interim protection order under the Heritage Act 1995.