A 100-year-old verandah on a historic Port Fairy hotel is set to be knocked down after Moyne Shire councillors unanimously voted in favour of its demolition.
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Council officers had recommended the shire knock back an application to demolish the verandah on the Royal Oak Hotel on Bank Street due to its heritage significance, however, councillors who inspected the site said it would be “impractical” to try to restore the fragile verandah.
The decision was made at Tuesday’s Moyne Shire meeting.
An engineering assessment found the verandah was structurally unsound and recommended it be entirely removed or rebuilt.
The application also includes the demolition of later additions to the back of the hotel including a dining room and storage areas.
The Royal Oak Hotel was built in 1857 but the verandah was not constructed until 50 years later.
The Moyne Shire officer’s planning report said the heritage significance of the hotel was not only linked to the original building, “but also in the later verandah, which demonstrates the changing economic/social conditions of the 1860s to 1940s of significance to the precinct”.
The hotel, which was originally known as the Commercial Hotel, was a staging post for coaching companies for many years. The report said removing the Edwardian style verandah would remove the layers of history.
In going against the officer’s recommendations, Cr Colin Ryan said it was “common sense” to remove the verandah.
“There are other structures on other hotels in Port Fairy that are not the original structure, that have been replaced bit by bit over the years and they have still retained the character of the original structure that was there,” he said.
Cr Jordan Lockett said demolishing the verandah was a “back to the future” move that would restore the hotel to its original state.
“People don’t like change in small towns – and this is a big change – but (for the verandah) to be removed brings it back to how it was,” he said.
Cr Lockett said there had been no objections to the verandah’s removal.
Cr Jim Doukas said when he inspected the building he had a good look at the verandah and had been unable to find any piece of timber completely in good condition.
