The "cowboy" developers behind the illegal demolition of a heritage-listed pub in Carlton face further fines after missing a deadline to cover asbestos waste dumped on a building site n Melbourne's west.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Environment Protection Authority on Friday confirmed it had issued a company owned by the developers with two fresh fines totalling more than $15,000 for failing to cover debris containing asbestos.
Those penalties follow a $7500 fine to another company run by the same two developers for leaving rubble exposed at the site of the former Corkman Irish Pub.
EPA metro manager Daniel Hunt said the owners of the demolished Corkman Irish Pub had had until 4pm Friday to cover the waste from the hotel, which had been dumped at another site the developers own in Cairnlea.
But the site owners did not comply with the 4pm deadline, and the EPA says it will now have to cover the remaining waste.
In what the agency has described as an "unprecedented move" a hygienist has been hired as a matter of urgency and the authority said it would seek to recover costs of removing the waste through legal action.
"While a large part of the waste has been covered, it has not all been covered, and now EPA will ensure it happens," Mr Hunt said.
"EPA will seek to recover the costs associated from the coverage of the waste at the site through pending legal action it will take against the owners of the site to hold them to account for their actions."
If prosecuted, they face fines of more than $750,000 for dumping construction and demolition waste illegally.
Mr Hunt said it was important to know the fines were "on top of" pending legal action.
"EPA is continuing its investigation to hold those responsible to account before the courts," he said.
"In gathering evidence, EPA will be looking into a range of possible offences that have occurred under the Environment Protection Act 1970."
The Cairnlea property is owned by Stefce Kutlesovski and Raman Shaqiri's Cairnlea Pty Ltd.
The pair also own the former Carlton site where the historic pub was razed on October 15 without planning or building permits.
The developers have been slammed for destroying the 159-year-old pub, formerly known as the Carlton Inn, and are now under investigation from the Victorian Building Authority, the City of Melbourne, the EPA, WorkCover and Heritage Victoria.
Planning Minister Richard Wynne on Friday afternoon said the VBA and council were looking at "several breaches" of the planning and building acts, including building works without a permit, contravening a stop work order and building without insurance.
"The site owners face heavy penalties from a number of government agencies because illegal demolition is never justified," he said.
Mr Wynne has previously branded them "cavalier cowboy developers" and Melbourne Lord Mayor Robert Doyle said destroying the pub was "the most brazen and wanton act of destructive vandalism that I have seen in my time as lord mayor".
Fairfax Media revealed on Thursday that the developers will be hauled before the planning tribunal to force them to replace the pub with another heritage-style building.
EPA and Brimbank council officers have door-knocked 72 homes near Furlong Road in Cairnlea in the past 24 hours, and received reports of concerns about demolition waste containing asbestos in the area.
The EPA said air monitoring has now being conducted and shows no asbestos fibres in the air, including at the local primary school.
Repeated attempts to contact Mr Shaqiri and Mr Kutlesovski have failed. The public relations firm acting for the developers have not responded to calls and emails from Fairfax Media.
