The Malinauskas Labor Government will prepare special-purpose legislation to secure the long-term future of the Crown and Anchor Hotel as a live music venue and provide ongoing protection for key live music pubs in the City of Adelaide against noise complaints from future residents.
The announcement follows an historic agreement reached between the State Government, developer Wee Hur Holdings Ltd and Save the Cranker campaigners after months of negotiation.
The agreement will see the developer abandon plans to demolish all but the façade of the live music hotel on Grenfell Street to build a 19-storey student accommodation building.
Instead, the State Government will introduce special purpose legislation to permit the developer to build up to 29-storeys on the site adjoining the hotel, with the State Commission Assessment Panel (SCAP) to assess the application within 10 business days of the development application being lodged.
Subject to approval, Wee Hur will invest a further $150 million in the development to provide safe and secure accommodation to students in higher education, while preserving the Crown and Anchor operation as a hotel.
The bill – to be introduced into State Parliament this month — will ensure that the Crown and Anchor Hotel cannot be demolished, that it cannot be built over, and that its current land use as a hotel and live music venue will be preserved.
The developer will be permitted to partially demolish and restore the pub’s live music room to install noise attenuation and acoustic treatments.
Once development approval is granted, the Crown and Anchor Hotel will undergo a period of temporary closure for the student accommodation to be built and acoustic treatments to be prepared.
However, the Development Approval will limit any closure period to a maximum of two years.
The current operator of the hotel will be given first right of return to the venue on completion of the works.
To further enshrine Adelaide’s reputation as UNESCO’s City of Music, the State Government will also amend planning laws to protect significant live music pubs in the City of Adelaide area from neighbour complaints.
The bill will require the installation of noise attenuation and or acoustic treatments on
future developments built alongside key live music venues.
As put by Peter Malinauskas
Together, we’ve saved the Cranker.
This is what can happen when Government works in partnership with the private sector and the community to achieve a win-win-win outcome.
No taxpayer money has been provided to the developer to secure the Crown and Anchor as a pub and live music venue.
This solution protects one of Adelaide’s great venues, delivers urgently needed student accommodation in a housing crisis and maintains our state’s strong reputation as an investment destination.
I’d like to thank Wee Hur and the Save the Cranker group for engaging genuinely and constructively with the Government to come up with an innovative solution.
As put by Member for Adelaide Lucy Hood
This is a fantastic result for live music, for heritage and for the character of our CBD.
I look forward to our Government introducing the Bill that will protect the Crown and Anchor and live music as this iconic and historic venue for current and future generations.
As put by Wee Hur Australia General Manager Peter Scott
Adelaide is current experiencing a shortage in private rentals, with a vacancy rate of just 0.8 per cent, and our development to supply student only accommodation will provide much needed housing capacity to support higher education whilst providing further relief to the city’s private rental market.
We have agreed to a range of mitigation measures at the Crown and Anchor site to preserve its operation as a hotel and music venue and look forward to working with the South Australian Government to create a facility that South Australians can be proud of.
As put by Save the Cranker Chair Evan Morony
We thank the Malinauskas Government for bringing us to the table and supporting the campaign.
We’ve been happy to work collaboratively with all parts of government in support of this win and are grateful to them for responding to our call to action.
As put by Save the Cranker board member Dr Nazz Oldham
The special purpose legislation is groundbreaking for South Australia.
It’s the kind of forward-thinking protection that the live music industry has been asking for a long time.
Developments can’t just pop up adjacent to music venues any more without being required to install sound proofing.
As put by Save the Cranker board member Patrick Maher
We have won our fight to save the pub. Our work is not finished.
We will explore ways of working with others to protect and support the continuity of the Cranker’s culture and community through this phase of transition.
We will also act as watchdogs over the changes to the Cranker.
