A developer responsible for illegally demolishing a historic inner-city Melbourne pub has pleaded guilty, more than a year and a half after the brazen incident.
Developers Raman Shaqiri and Stefce Kutlesovski, and their company 160 Leicester Proprietary Limited, were charged with knocking down the 160-year-old Corkman Irish Pub in October 2016.
The developers face 16 charges as well as fines of up to $2 million after disregarding the heritage overlay and failing to obtain demolition permits.
Shaqiri has pleaded guilty, while co-accused Kutlesovski said he would fight the charges.
The court heard the developers and their business were initially being represented by the same lawyer but a conflict of interest between the parties had arisen.
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The men were to face a four-day hearing this week in the Melbourne Magistrates Court, but the hearing has now been delayed because of the defendant's conflicting pleas.
Shaqiri and Kutlesovski are already facing hefty fines from the Environment Protection Authority after pleading guilty earlier this year to the illegal dumping of asbestos-ridden demolition waste.
The pair were planning a 12-storey apartment tower for the Carlton site when it was purchased for $4.76 million in 2015.
After the illegal demolition, Shaqiri and Kutlesovski sparked public outrage and vowed to rebuild the pub. They later u-turned, stating they would move forward with their plans to build the apartment tower.
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Minister for Planning Richard Wynne put an interim protection order in place which forbids any work on the site until October.
The council hopes to provide a planning scheme amendment that would allow a total rebuild of the pub and provide heritage protection.
Shaqiri and the company won’t face any punishment until January 2019.
