WILLIAMSTOWN’S Oriental Hotel was in danger of collapsing and should have been fenced off to protect the public, according to two separate reports produced last year.
However, no action was taken until April 15 following last month’s wall collapse in Swanston Street which killed three people.
A report prepared for Hobsons Bay Council by BHS Consultants, dated August-October 2012, recommended the hotel “be cordoned off for public safety in the event the wall was to collapse”.
A report prepared for the developer 10 months ago warned the hotel was in danger of “sudden collapse”.
Aurecon’s report prepared for Evolve Development, dated June 22, 2012, stated: “Any further settlement of the foundations is also a potential risk to the structures and can cause sudden collapse.
“The option of no further action and monitoring is not recommended and we recommend that the area around the perimeter of the building be cordoned off for safety reasons to the users of the footpath and road.”
The 1854 hotel, thought to be Victoria’s oldest three-storey brick hotel, is part of the Port Phillip Woollen Mill development site earmarked for high-rise residential development. Evolve managing director Ashley Williams said that after the hotel was deemed a safety hazard, he had discussed cordoning it off with the council.
“At the time it was deemed that until we got a planning permit it wouldn’t be appropriate,” he said.
“I think the recent events, though, at Swanston Street clearly identified that wasn’t an assumption that was safe to make any more — to wait for a planning permit – so we decided to act.
“We discussed with council and council clearly identified that we weren’t able to do anything without a planning permit. This time we acted without a permit and council has requested that we apply for one.”
The council did not respond when asked why the hotel was not “cordoned off for public safety” as recommended by the report it commissioned last year.
