Palace Theatre Temporarily Saved From Further Demolition

Melbourne's embattled Palace Theatre has been granted a temporary stay of execution after councillors for the City Of Melbourne denied an application from venue owner Jinshan Investments to continue demolition of the premises.

As detailed in minutes taken at Tuesday night's meeting of Future Melbourne Committee members show that a motion was put forward to refuse the application "on the grounds set out in the delegate report attached to the report from management". The motion was passed by a 5-3 vote, with performers, artists and entertainers such as Ezekiel Ox (who has been consistently vocal about saving the Palace) and Eddie Perfect stepping up to the plate to speak in defence of the venue's heritage value.

Pro-Palace protesters have faced an uphill battle since late last month, when demolition works began on the interior of the venue before any application to do so had been approved, leading an independent consultant to reverse an initial recommendation to save the venue, saying the consequent damage had made any heritage-preservation exercise pointless.

As a result, the latest decision unarguably feels like a win for the demonstrators, including flagship movement Save The Palace Theatre, who took to their website to celebrate the stalling of what they describe as "an insignificant seven-storey hotel".

"It's been a long, arduous journey for us and to see our constant campaigning, lobbying, letter-writing and rallying finally pay off with some results was ridiculously satisfying," the group wrote. "We thank eveyone who has provided us with support and guidance, most particularly the last couple of weeks."

Acknowledging that the fight is "not over yet" — Jinshan are taking council to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) over council's decision time on its application, saying the required time period had lapsed before a call was made — Save The Palace are nonetheless enjoying the victory.

"For a brief second we'll sit back and bask in this momentary glory and then regroup and prepare for our next steps and our next battle," they wrote.