The Hepburn Shire Council has forced owners of the maligned British Hotel to undertake works to maintain the prominent building after pieces of the pub began falling onto the street last month.
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Residents contacted Creswick Ward councillors in late October after trim from a bay window on the building began to fall onto the Albert Street footpath, Creswick’s main street.
Council building surveyers placed a building order on the hotel earlier this week, requiring the owners to make the premises safe and to hire a structural engineer to assess the integrity of the building.
A temporary fence has also been erected around the site to protect pedestrians.
Creswick Ward councillor Don Henderson said while the community was fed up with the state of the prominent building, council did not have the ability to force the owners to sell or revamp the pub.
“The people are look forward to having something done with it,” Cr Henderson said. “It just can’t stay there forever and it’s a blot on the landscape in its current state.”
The pub has sat empty since 2007 and has been the regular target of vandals in recent years and despite being on the market for almost a decade.
While the building is partially covered by a heritage overlay scheme, internal alteration controls don’t apply.
The pub is owned by a conglomerate of investors located outside of Creswick who have always remained anonymous.
In a statement, Hepburn Shire planning manager Justin Fiddes said council had responded to the complaint made about the safety of pedestrians walking near the building.
“The landowner is cooperating with council to make the area and any structural deficiencies safe,” the statement read.
Realtor, Caine Real Estate was contacted for comment and did not respond.