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Central Pier: Development Victoria says regular inspections ‘didn’t raise any flags’ prior to emergency closure

Posted on 09/01/2020 - 4:47 pm by

Development Victoria last week made the announcement that the historic Central Pier in Docklands will not be reopened.

The decision comes after the shocking emergency evacuation of the pier on August 28.

Development Victoria intends to demolish the pier, which is more than a century old, but these plans may be derailed, as the structure is covered by a heritage listing.

Pier tenant Nick Ellul told 3AW’s Heidi Murphy he was “completely devastated” by the decision not to reopen the pier, and he doesn’t understand how inspections which were carried out by Development Victoria every two months for years didn’t detect the pier’s structural damage earlier.

“They’re inspecting every second month for years and then they have to do an emergency evacuation? If that happens at any building someone hasn’t done their job, for it to get to that. We want to know who wasn’t doing their job properly,” Mr Ellul said.

“That sort of damage doesn’t just happen overnight.”

Central Pier businesses are currently embroiled in legal action in the federal court over claims they were misled by Development Victoria.

But an interview with Group Head of Precincts at Development Victoria, Geoff Ward, has raised more questions than it answered.

Heidi Murphy asked Mr Ward if it’s fair to say Development Victoria “dropped the ball” on the management of the pier.

“No, not at all,” Mr Ward said.

In a dumbfounding exchange, Mr Ward said that despite regular engineers inspections for years prior to Central Pier’s closure, the first Development Victoria heard of the structural problems with the pier was on August 28, the day it was closed.

Heidi Murphy: “So in two months it went from being perfectly operational to unsafe and having to be closed in an emergency?”

Mr Ward: “That’s correct.”

Heidi Murphy: “What went so wrong in two months?”

Mr Ward: “Well that’s the question we asked ourselves and that’s why we launched into a 15 week investigation of ‘how did the pier get to this state?’ We had just spent $7 million over the previous three years which we thought was going to allow the tenants to continue to enjoy the premises. What the 15 week investigation showed is that many of the piles that hold up Central Pier were in fact deteriorating and deteriorating at an accelerated rate, and the opinion of the engineer was that it was unsafe and should be closed.”

Heidi Murphy: “The engineers that had inspected it prior to that hadn’t noticed it? Or had it honestly degraded that quickly?”

Mr Ward: “I’m not a maritime expert, I have to rely on what the specialists are telling us, but their advice was very specific in august to say that the pier was no longer safe for occupation and that we should evacuate the pier.”

Heidi Murphy: “But what was their advice in June?”

Mr Ward: “The advice prior to that didn’t raise any flags.”

A 15 week Development Victoria investigation into what went wrong has not questioned why earlier inspections did not reveal the severity of the pier’s problems.

“That has not been our focus,” Mr Ward said.

Click here for the full interview

Central Pier can’t be demolished without permit: Heritage Victoria

Posted on 07/01/2020 - 4:23 pm by

Heritage Victoria has warned Central Pier in Docklands – which is more than 100 years old – cannot be demolished without a permit because it is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.

And Melbourne City councillor Jackie Watts has called for “staunch and urgent advocacy” to halt the “unjustifiable decision” to demolish the historic wooden pier, which she says is the “crown jewel” of Victoria Harbour.

More than 1000 jobs will be lost after Development Victoria made the shock announcement last week it would demolish Central Pier – which housed function spaces, offices and restaurants – due to safety concerns.

It said despite $7 million being spent on repair works over the past three years, “the rate of deterioration to the piles that support the pier is accelerating due to rot, marine borer and termite attacks”.

“Regrettably it means the pier will have to be demolished and completely rebuilt,” Development Victoria’s Geoff Ward told Channel Seven on Friday.

But Heritage Victoria executive director Steven Avery said a permit from Heritage Victoria was required for any change to a registered heritage place, including for demolition.

“Victoria Dock including Central Pier is of State significance and included on the Victorian Heritage Register,” Mr Avery said.

The Heritage Act 2017 requires Mr Avery to consider the cultural heritage significance and public submissions when deciding whether to grant a permit to demolish or change the pier.

The National Trust (Victoria) said it recognised Victoria Dock and Central Pier as a place of both state and national significance.

“While Docklands has witnessed great change in recent decades, our remaining maritime heritage tells the story of Melbourne’s role as one of the world’s major ports, and should be celebrated,”  chief executive officer Simon Ambrose said.

We encourage Development Victoria to commit to the long-term restoration and maintenance of Central Pier. – National Trust (Victoria) CEO Simon Ambrose

Development Victoria chief executive Angela Skandarajah said the agency was working with Heritage Victoria to understand how the pier’s heritage components could be retained as part of a replacement structure.

Development Victoria has come under fire over its handling of Central Pier – which has been closed since it was dramatically evacuated in August – with businesses accusing it of “misleading and deceptive conduct” in legal action before the Federal Court.

They also accuse Development Victoria of deliberately timing Friday’s announcement of the closure of the pier – three days before the decision was due – when the state was preoccupied by raging bushfires.

Ms Skandarajah said once a decision had been made “we wanted to provide this advice to the tenant as soon as possible”.

Development Victoria said engineers had been inspecting the pier every two months since November 2018.

“It was during these inspections the accelerated deterioration of the pier was revealed and the advice given by our engineers that the pier was no longer safe for occupation. As soon as Development Victoria received this information the pier was closed.”

Nick Ellul, the general manager of Austage Venues, which provided audio-visual equipment and services for events held at Shed 14, said the evacuation had been ordered after guests had been served entree during a gala dinner on August 28.

How could things have been so mismanaged? I feel like I am living an episode of Utopia. – Austage Venues general manager Nick Ellul

“If they had been inspecting every two months why did the gala dinner have to be evacuated in the middle of the night?” Mr Ellul said. “How could things have been so mismanaged to have got to that? I feel like I am living an episode of Utopia.”

Mr Ellul said tenants were refused entry to the pier for the first month after the evacuation, which meant he was forced to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to hire audio-visual equipment for functions at other venues.

He said they had still only been able to retrieve half of the assets, with Development Victoria yet to come up with a plan for how to remove the heavier equipment.

Mr Ellul said he would be forced to retrench his 30 employees, some of whom had worked for him for 10 years and were like family.

He said Development Victoria had been “completely callous”, informing tenants of the decision to permanently close the pier last week at the same time it was released in the media.

“Our business we have built for 10 years has been completely devastated because people were incompetent with the maintenance of the pier,” Mr Ellul said.

Opposition priority precincts spokesman David Davis said the government’s handling of the pier had been a disaster.

“It’s just terrible incompetence that has caused enormous damage to these businesses and cost hundreds of jobs,” Mr Davis said.

“I accept there are problems but why weren’t they picked up earlier and dealt with?”

Docklands’ Central Pier and All of Its Venues Will Remain Closed Indefinitely Due to Safety Concerns

Posted on 05/01/2020 - 4:20 pm by

First closed last August, the site century-old won’t be reopening as it currently stands.

Melburnians won’t be heading back to Docklands’ Central Pier for a wine, dine or a dance by the water any time soon, with the century-old pier remaining closed indefinitely. After evacuating the site back in August 2019, then undertaking engineering evaluations to determine the extent of the structure’s safety risks, Development Victoria has now revealed that it won’t be reopening the spot as it currently stands.

Central Pier — and all the businesses located on it — were initially deemed off limits after engineers advised the structure had suffered significant deterioration and was unsafe for use. Popular residents including gastropub The Woolshed, artisan breadhouse Mill & Bakery and Middle Eastern eatery Mama Rumaan were evacuated on the spot, while nightclub Alumbra and the pier’s numerous events spaces were also declared no-go zones.

At the time, Geoff Ward, spokesperson for Development Victoria — the pier’s landlord — revealed the site had undergone structural stabilisation in the past two years and had consistently been given the safety tick of approval.”Engineers have been inspecting the pier every two months since November 2018 and had previously provided certification that supported the ongoing occupation of the pier,” he confirmed. But August’s assessment saw immediate closure of the pier, as well as the implementation of fencing and signage across the front of Central Pier, preventing any access — and the beginning of a 15-week assessment process.

The results of that investigation are now known, with Development Victoria deciding that “due to the complexity and age of the structure of the pier, repairs required to bring the pier back into service would be extensive”. The move comes after engineers found that “despite previous repairs, the rate of deterioration to the piles that support the pier is accelerating due to rot, marine borer and termite attacks”.

Explaining the decision, Angela Skandarajah, Development Victoria’s CEO, advised “even if we were to invest significant funds and time in repairs, our engineers advise the issues will continue to resurface without ongoing specialist maintenance work. This investment would still not guarantee that the pier can be made safe for public access in the medium to long term due to its ongoing deterioration.”

Just what the future holds for Central Pier is now unclear — it won’t be reopening in its current form, but Development Victoria says that it “will work closely with Heritage Victoria, the community and a range of other stakeholders to identify opportunities to rebuild the pier so it can be safely used by the community.”

In a Facebook post, Atlantic Group (which leases and operates several venues and event spaces on the pier, including nightclub Alumbra) expressed disbelief at the decision, as well as its timing during the current bushfire crisis — and advised that it’ll be postponing any press conferences about the news until after the natural disaster subsides.

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