Council to protest hotel delisting

Rockingham City Council has voted to express its official disappointment at Heritage Minister John Castrilli’s decision to remove the Rockingham Hotel from the interim heritage list.

The Government made the decision in May and last week the council’s planning committee recommended that the council chief executive officer write to the Minister, expressing disappointment.

The council claims Mr Castrilli acted wrongly by not seeking submissions or obtaining motions from both Houses of Parliament, as required by the Act.

However, the Heritage Council says a reputable firm of heritage architects assessed that the building was not of sufficient heritage value to warrant inclusion on the interim heritage list, due in part to its poor condition and to the fact that it’s been redeveloped a number of times.

Hotel owner Peter Mirco agrees and says he’s happy with the Minister’s decision.

‘‘Yes, because the building is not what it used to be,’’ he said.

‘‘It’s been changed a lot from the original.’’

Mr Mirco says he’s considering redevelopment options but the issue of finance has to be addressed.

‘‘It’s not going to happen overnight,’’ he said.

Meanwhile, the city council is calling for a section of the Heritage of WA Act 1990 to be deleted, claiming it lacks procedural fairness and accountability.

The Heritage Council says a review of the Act is already under way and the Rockingham council, as well as locals, are encouraged to have their input into the review.

The Rockingham Hotel was granted interim heritage listing in May 2008, after the city council voiced support for the move.

The listing covered the hotel, the walls of the former beer garden and the Norfolk Island pines.

A month later, the city council advised that it supported permanent listing of the hotel.