Kincraig Hotel falls into administration

Naracoorte’s Kincraig Hotel has closed its doors after going into administration, following what the owners claim is an “ongoing issue” with fire compliance.

Administrators were appointed to the entity operating the pub, Solomons Mines Investments Pty Ltd, this week. However, the pub’s management said on Facebook that it had been forced to close its doors due to “issues relating to council fire safety compliance” and would remain closed “until further notice”.

“It is with a heavy heart we have to inform you that due to issues relating to council fire safety compliance, we will be closing our doors until further notice,” it said.

“We have been tirelessly working with all parties involved to fix these issues but have been unable to make any meaningful headway with the timeline provided, leading to this decision.

“We are still optimistic that we can find (we) will be able to resolve these issues but until then we apologise for any inconvenience that this may cause.”

However, the local council said no fire safety notices had been issued by it to the hotel.

“Council has been liaising with the Kincraig Hotel managers for approximately 12 months on building fire safety,” Naracoorte Lucindale Council council said in a statement.

“Most of the matters relating to building fire safety were located in the upstairs accommodation area, and thus had no impact on the majority of Kincraig Hotel’s operations such as bars, dining room, beer garden, bottle shop or gaming area.

“Council considers that the Kincraig Hotel was close to remedying all building fire safety requirements, and accordingly, we do not accept that council would be the primary reason for their decision to close.”

Co-owner Brett Viney said there had been “an ongoing fire compliance issue dispute” between the them and the landlord since settlement.

Viney co-owns the pub alongside Matthew Mitchell, Port Adelaide co-captain Ollie Wines and Angus Monfries, the club’s former forward.

Sheridan Randall, 9^th May 2019