Yass Valley Council issues demolition order for Commercial Hotel

A blaze, which was allegedly deliberately lit, ripped through the 1849 building in the early hours of Monday, May 15.

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In a statement released on Tuesday, May 30, a council spokesman said a demolition order had been issued to the Comur Street hotel's owner.

"Due to the extent of fire damage, a structural assessment report concluded that the remaining structure is in an unstable condition and requires demolition," it stated.

"The council will continue to work with the landowner to ensure these works take place as soon as possible."

General manager Chris Berry said the report, by Canberra consulting firm, Selkirk, concluded the best solution was for the entire building to be demolished.

"We basically have a shell of a building with no bracing between the various walls...There is nothing holding it up other than the foundations," he said.

"It sits right on the footpath and is at risk of falling down. If someone goes in there without authority, we have big problems. It is a huge public liability risk."

While the report stated there were some options for bracing, Mr Berry several areas, including footpaths, would require restricted access for prolonged periods with no guarantee of success.

"We saw that as too big a disruption to the public...This is a pragmatic solution" he said.

The council requested the owner to commission the structural report. Now it will be bulldozed at their expense. It's understood the hotel was not fully insured.

The news has disappointed Yass Historical Society. President Cheryl Mongan said she understood the need for public safety but lamented loss of a once grand structure.

"Looking at the building, it could be beyond redemption," she said.

"I'm no structural engineer but we all know fires do dreadful damage to buildings. Public safety is first and foremost but if it goes, it's a real shame. It should never have been able to get to the state of dereliction it did."

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The hotel has been vacant since about 2005 but a new owner had planned to redevelop it as "a family friendly pub." Mr Berry said the local consortium had been working on plans as recently as a wekk before the fire.

A veranda was removed about one year ago due to public safety but was never replaced.

The owner could not be contacted for comment.

Mrs Mongan said while the community would be saddened by the loss, many regarded it as an eyesore due to its "neglect" over a long period.

"There may be people who think the demolition is a good thing but it's a pity to lose the facade. As a historical society we recognise the value of adaptive re-use but it can't always be done," she said.

"...As sad as it is, we have to be sensible about it if there's a public safety risk. But if the hotel was still on the council's Local Environmental Plan as a heritage item, it might not have come to this."

The hotel dispensed hospitality and accommodation to locals and travellers alike since 1849, according to the Society's research.

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Mrs Mongan said in its heyday it was regarded as the best hotel in the southern districts and hosted two Governors General - Lord Belmore (in 1868 and 1871) and Lord Carrington (1888) as well known individuals such as aviator Charles Kingsford-Smith and his family.

"The hotel was the centre of social life and the balcony hosted a wide range of gatherings from would be politicians appealing to the locals gathered below and the first official send off of local men who enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in August 1914," the Society's research stated.

The pub was first licensed to John Gibbons and in 1850 to Thomas Colls. In 1875, Henry Dodds took over as licensee but was sold as part of his estate in 1898. A succession of owners followed until the doors closed in 2005.

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Over the years, the hotel endured a two other fires, including a major one in 1903 that gutted the building. The structure was rebuilt. A cyclone that ripped through Yass in 1891 also unroofed the hotel, its outbuildings and stables.

Mrs Mongan hoped something of value to Yass would replace the structure, given what she said was a shortage of commercial premises.

"I hope whatever replaces it is in sympathy with the streetscape," she said.

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