Duke of Brunswick hotel closes over rent, maintenance dispute

ONE of Adelaide’s oldest pubs has closed amid a dispute over who is responsible for maintaining the heritage property.

The Duke of Brunswick, on Gilbert St, is expected to be closed until the dispute between publican Glen Duncan and the hotel’s owners is resolved.

Mr Duncan has refused to pay rent because he claims the landlords had not paid for a much-needed upgrade to the building.

“Unfortunately, now it is in the hands of the court to decide,” he said.

“But I’m not going back in there until (the building) is safe.”

Mr Duncan said he did not know how long the pub would be closed for.

“I have no idea how long the court process will take but I am hoping to get a hearing in the next few days,” he said.

The hotel, which served its first drink more than 150 years ago in 1858, is now commonly known as the “The Duke” or “The Brunswick”.

It is one of the oldest continuously trading hotels in South Australia.

Mr Duncan said he had decided to close an upstairs function room because of his safety concerns. He said the upstairs balcony, which has recently been removed, had also been closed for a long time.

An Adelaide City Council spokeswoman said negotiations with the building owners were ongoing to ensure the property was safe and important heritage aspects retained.

“The rectification works have now progressed to a point where the owner has removed the veranda over the balcony on the Gilbert St frontage of the building,” she said.

“The balcony posts and frames have been retained on site for heritage examination ahead of the restoration of the balcony. The outhouse at the rear of the building is due to be demolished on the weekend.

“Preservation of heritage features of the building is a priority following resolution of safety issues.”

The spokeswoman said the council was also looking into the pub’s beer garden, which was built without approval.

“Council’s investigations have found (the back area of the pub changed from a service yard to a beer garden) some time ago without approval,” she said.

“Council’s investigations into the compliance status of the beer garden and associated raised deck is ongoing, but at this stage it is not believed to be a public safety risk.”

The landlord, when contacted by The Advertiser, said he did not want to comment at this stage of proceedings.

Originally published as No drinks at this pub until dispute

Source: Adelaide Now / The Advertiser, Ken McGregor and Anthony Templeton, 25^th August 2015
Originally published as: Duke of Brunswick hotel closes over rent, maintenance dispute