Lord Mayor Robert Doyle was one of those who voted for the demolition, citing “planning consistency being important.” The Melbourne Heritage Action group attacked his reasoning as “a complete misunderstanding of the entire process of heritage listing.”
The group reported on Facebook, “Other councillors spoke passionately against the development in a 6-3 vote, Cr Oke calling it a ‘wake up call for the lack of proper heritage protection across the city’ and in support of Melbourne’s cultural heritage and live music, and the rest of council has voted against the development. Developers have taken council to VCAT however, so we continue to wait for a final decision.”
The Save The Palace group posted on its Facebook page, “This round goes to us! Plenty more in this battle but we’re gonna take that and enjoy it, just for now!”
The City has had to contend with the issue over whether the Palace Theatre no longer has heritage value after some of its internal fittings were demolished. But those fighting to save the venue argue there are still heritage fittings existing which make heritage protection a must.
As reported earlier in Beat, Jinshan’s demolition application looked doomed when the City’s Manager of Planning and Building made a recommendation before the vote that “The extent of the proposed demolition cannot be supported having regard to the historical and social significance of the place. As such, the application cannot be supported.”
The next round will be the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal hearing between City of Melbourne and Jinshan. Earlier this month, Jinshan lodged an appeal against the City’s failure to make a decision on its building application within the prescribed 60 days.
Also reported earlier in Beat was that a British venue operator and developer is still pursuing plans to buy the Palace building to restore it and turn it into a music hub.
