By AIDAN KNIGHT AND LIAM DURKIN
TALK about not passing the pub test.
Persistent rumours surrounding social housing being established at the old Morwell Central Hotel is leaving the community on edge.
While the state government has ducked and weaved questioning from the Express, opponents to the development have made their voices heard loud and clear.
To their mind, this will kill the Morwell CBD.
“If there is a plan to house up to 40 people at the old Morwell Central Hotel, that plan cannot be allowed to go ahead,” Member for Morwell Martin Cameron said.
Advance Morwell Chair Graeme Sennett said businesses along and surrounding Commercial Road were “extremely concerned” about the plan and the way it had been handled.
Dante Brown, owner-operator of Authentic Hair Artistry on Commercial Rd, added that the pub’s building was a likely fire hazard, especially upstairs.
“We’ve heard that the building’s been condemned,” she said, saying that another business owner in her circle, the former owner of MugLife Espresso & Juice Bar, inquired about the building in the hopes of seeing it return it to its former glory as a fully operational pub – only to be told it’s not fit-for-purpose.
Works were clearly taking place on the Tarwin St side of the building last week.
Windows above the old Amber Lounge have been taken out, although with no project board at the premises, there is nothing to suggest it is a legitimate building site. There is nothing listed under that address within the Ministerial permits register.
Latrobe City Council confirmed that the site is privately owned and located within an Activity Centre Zone Schedule 2, meaning a planning permit is not required for accommodation located above ground floor level.
However, the issue surrounds establishing social housing in an area known to frequent antisocial behaviour. The site is just metres from Morwell’s train station and bus interchange – one of the most infamous locations on the Latrobe Valley map.
Locals have been quick to point the finger at Morwell MP and former Housing Minister Harriet Shing, who has constantly spruiked social housing after the Commonwealth Games debacle.
The housing portfolio was handed over to Nick Staikos last April. Both Ministers were approached for comment.
The pub has been closed for a number of years. Its website however is still active.
Word also circulated that the site would be used for worker accommodation for a number of new energy projects. The Express reached out to energy groups, but had no information provided before going to press.
Mr Sennett said safety remained the number one concern from Morwell businesses, traders and residents.
“People aren’t (and) don’t feel safe,” he said.
“Roughly 80 per cent of people don’t feel it’s safe to be up the street.
“It’s not a good situation at all.”
Mr Sennett said the loss of banks, post office traffic and major retail outlets had robbed the CBD of “appealing behaviours”, leaving a vacuum that made the streets feel far more threatening.
“You can spend a fortune on making it look pretty, but if the behaviours aren’t there, people start avoiding it, and we’re in this downward spiral,” he said.
Mr Sennett said he was concerned the development could exacerbate existing issues in the CBD, which have been a hot topic for Latrobe City councillors for the past year.
Ms Brown held similar trepidations.
“I know it’ll likely be housing mostly homeless people or those in crisis,” she said.
“I’m not trying to put homeless people in a bucket, but you’ve got a big group of people who are desperate to do anything to survive.
“There needs to be a more sustainable outcome, so that they’re in a residential area.”
Ms Brown detailed herself and her one employee implementing a “buddy system” when exiting the shop each night, “because we don’t like walking to our cars late at night by ourselves, because there’s no back door access from our shop, so we have to walk all the way around to the back car park.
“”I have called the police probably three times since I’ve been in the shop (since last September) for people getting into fights out the front, and I’ve had to lock the doors. Literally, the other night we had two people punching on in the centre of the road.”
Authentic Hair Artistry regulary trades late into the evening, often until 9pm, servicing customers who can’t get their hair done during office hours.
Ms Brown says that if the social housing plan goes forward, she will take her business elsewhere.
“I’m not going to put myself or my employee in danger by working till nine o’clock at night – I’ll move shop,” she declared.
Mr Cameron said Morwell could ill-afford to see the project given the green light.
“The Latrobe Valley already has a disproportionate number of rooming houses, and there are huge issues that come with this type of accommodation because it’s overwhelmingly occupied by transient people,” he said.
“Many of these people have come from the prison system, and they’re being pushed out of Melbourne into Morwell because the rent is relatively cheap.
“I’ve spoken to several business owners on Commercial Road who have contacted me with grave concerns about this development.
“They have said, unequivocally, that if this building is turned into a rooming house or hostel-type accommodation then they will shut their doors.
“The Morwell CBD is already on its knees, and this development has the potential to be the final nail in its coffin.
“Nothing about this plan meets community expectations.
“Latrobe City has a mandate to protect the amenity of the CBD, retailers and residents, and it must step-in and step-up to stop this disastrous development immediately.”
While the situation is ongoing, it arguably points to an even bigger issue.
Speaking to a former Latrobe City councillor last week, they believed what is happening in Morwell has now gone beyond what council and even state governments can address.
There could only be one solution – the federal government needs to step in.
That’s honestly how bad it’s become.
