By Andy Young
The Victorian Building Authority (VBA) and the City of Melbourne (COM) have jointly laid a total of 16 charges against the developers involved in the demolition of the Corkman Irish Pub in Leicester Street, Carlton in October 2016.
A joint statement by VBA and COM about the charges said: "Stefce Kutlesovski, Raman Shaqiri and the company that owns the property, 160 Leicester Pty Ltd (of which Stefce Kutlesovski and Raman Shaqiri are both Directors), all face multiple charges for their involvement in the demolition of the pub and related breaches of the Building Act 1993, the Planning and Environment Act 1987 and the Activities Local Law 2009.
"Charges include demolishing without a building permit, failing to comply with an order to stop building work, carrying out demolition work while unregistered and contraventions of the planning legislation. The maximum penalties for these charges range from $3,109.20 to $388,650.00."
The VBA and the COM have jointly filed charges under each organisation’s relevant legislation at the Magistrates’ Court this morning, following a comprehensive three-month investigation by the two organisations.
The Corkman was demolished last October, and then asbestos from the demolition was found to have been dumped on another site.
The demolition also saw the Victorian Parliament introduce new legislation seeking tougher penalties for illegal building work.