Demolition Of Melbourne's Historic Palace Theatre Has Been Approved

The long, erratic and often painful fight to save Melbourne's historic Palace Theatre is in seemingly dire straits after the Victorian Civil & Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) approved a permit for developers to move ahead with a 12-storey boutique hotel in place of the venue.

As Fairfax reports, VCAT made its decision late today despite persistent protests from activist groups such as Save The Palace, which reacted to the news of VCAT's decision with swift ferocity, urging its followers to gather peacefully outside Melbourne Town Hall to plead with the council before the long weekend well and truly takes hold.

"Ezekiel Ox is down outside Melbourne Town Hall right now," the Save The Palace Facebook page wrote earlier this afternoon. "He needs your support so please get on down as soon as you can.

"We need to send a message to the Councillors before they go away for the long weekend. They must take immediate action today to continue this fight. If we miss them, we can bet the Palace won't be there come Monday when they return to office."

Save The Palace went on to explain why they believe it is "not over yet" for the Palace and its supporters, pointing to an agreement by the city council earlier this week to release funds to conduct "a full heritage review of the Hoddle Grid", referring to the inner-city network of streets designed by surveyor Robert Hoddle in Melbourne's nascent years.

"It would only seem fitting thus to continue their pursuit of saving the Palace Theatre from demolition, especially considering they have already acknowledged the building's Heritage significance and social worth. So let's get behind our Councillors and encourage them to not give up the good fight.

"If the Council votes in favour of filing an appeal, demolition of the Palace Theatre can be put on hold. So gather yourselves, your instruments, banners, placards, costumes, whatever you deem fitting and get down and make some 'noise' and let our representatives know that they should vote in favour of pursuing an appeal."

For those unable to attend the Save The Palace rally, the group suggests calling the City Of Melbourne and asking to speak with a planning officer. Give them a bell and let them know how you feel on (03) 9658 9658.

The mission to stop the demolition of the Palace has been in effect for more than a year, given urgent new life in November 2014 when developers Jinshan Investments began gutting the venue's interior without proper clearance. The Palace was granted a reprieve when City Councillors took action to stop the developers while an independent review of the venue's Heritage qualities was undertaken, which ultimately ruled the space was "not worth saving", partially because of the damage caused by the internal wreckage. 

Additionally, it was announced that only the facade of the venue would be saved, which, as Fairfax notes, is viewed as "an acceptable response to the heritage values of the precinct", according to VCAT senior member Michael Wright and member Cindy Wilson. VCAT echoed the independent report's sentiments by saying that "the recent removal of much internal fabric has diminished" the venue's historical value.

The now-approved submission to VCAT was first mentioned in September last year.