Australasia Hotel sale collapses
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The sale of the Hotel Australasia to Irisha Pty Ltd and Rubycove Pty Ltd will not be proceeding.
It looked as if the sale was going ahead. The issues was discussed at the council meeting May 23 and the council passed a motion to authorise the general manager and mayor to execute the contract for sale and side deed.
The council’s director of community environment and planning Anthony Basford told the meeting that considerable effort had been put into the legal side of the sale to ensure the facade and laneway access was protected. Councillors said it was a good outcome with councillor Robyn Bain saying that the timeframe had a beginning and a completion.
The Hotel Australasia is listed as a heritage item under the Bega Valley Local Environment Plan 2013 (LEP). The council said that restoration of the façade was a condition in the contract for sale.
However, everything changed when councillor Sharon Tapscott, who moved the motion to go ahead also asked for the contract to be released as a public document as soon as possible. The contract was not released and no contracts were exchanged.
The council explained it in a statement on July 30 published by the Bega District News:
“We have received formal advice from our legal representatives that the developers no longer wish to purchase the heritage listed hotel,” the council said.
“Negotiations had previously resulted in an agreed sale price, along with commitments concerning the restoration and use of the site and the development of the laneway in accordance with the side deed.”
A spokesman for the council said spokesman said the developers had not given the council any reason why they had withdrawn from the sale.
“These events are obviously disappointing; however council remains steadfast in its commitment to see the Eden icon return to its former glory,” the spokesman told the Bega District News.
The council is now waiting for a report before deciding what to do next. This is critical because the motion relating to the Hotel Australasia and council’s involvement in 2016 was not rescinded and the issue is whether the motion will be re-instated now that the sale to Irisha Rubycove is no longer going ahead.
Leon Gettler - 2nd August 2018
