By Andy Young
The developers who illegally demolished the historic the Corkman Irish Pub in Carlton, have said they will rebuild it.
The 140-year-old pub was illegally knocked down earlier this month, prompting action from the Victorian government and the City of Melbourne. Now the developers Stefce Kutlesovski and Raman Shaqiri have written to Victoria’s Planning Minister, Richard Wynne, to say that the hotel will be rebuilt.
Despite the letter, Wynne has said that he will continue with the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal action, compelling the owners to rebuild the pub.
"We're seeking an enforceable order to reinstate the building," Wynne told the ABC.
"The letter admitted that they were clearly at fault, they have an alleged range of justifications for their actions.
"The course of action that I've taken is the right course of action, because clearly the owners of this hotel have blatantly ignored all of the planning rules in this state and they have acknowledged that."
The pub was illegally demolished two weeks ago, sparking outrage but then further fuel was added to the fire when asbestos from the site was found illegally dumped in other parts of Melbourne.