Melbourne City Council orders former Goldfingers strip club site to be turned into a park

“Whilst waiting for construction to start, sometimes these sites can be activated to add value to the public realm and to be usable by the public, and so that’s what’s going to happen at the Kilkenny pub site,” she said. “This is certainly a more proactive approach, which I think is the right one in the current environment.”

The park will be paid for by Hickory and Capp said the council would work closely with the developer on a “pretty simple design” with some grass, plants or trees and some street furniture such as park benches.

“It doesn’t have to be expensive,” she said. “It’s really about making it functional and something that enhances that area in the meantime.”

Capp pointed to a similar park that has been installed at the site of the former Corkman Hotel in Carlton after the developer illegally demolished the pub, which had stood on the site since 1854.

She said economic conditions meant there may be more vacant sites in the city centre and more enforcement of temporary activation clauses in council permits.

“There are so many headwinds facing the development sector whether that’s the cost of supplies or availability of labor or commercial feasibility, other factors on the demand side,” she said. “We’re conscious that it may take more time for developments to get underway. We have a healthy pipeline still of approvals but we have noticed a slowing down in development so working with developers to really enhance those sites during that transition is important for us as a city.”

Charles Sowerwine, chair of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria, said it was a shame that only the facade of the former building, which was protected by a heritage overlay, remained.

“A heritage overlay is not sufficiently respected in the planning by the planning authorities when push comes to shove,” she said. “[The proposal] seems to overpower what is left of the facade. In some ways, facade developments, when they completely overpower, you wonder if it’s worth saving a facade or getting a clean modern design.”