Demolition work begins at historic Rockingham Hotel with skip bins and crews seen at the site

Work has begun ahead of demolition of the historic Rockingham Hotel and Liquid nightclub on Kent Street.

Last Friday, skip bins and crews were at the site to begin the removal of asbestos.

It was just a month ago that the City of Rockingham sounded the death knell for the foreshore’s historic building, paving the way for the construction of a multi-storey tavern complex.

Plans were first brought to council by developers The Foreshore Group in October.

Three Pound Group, which owns numerous Perth hotels including The Camfield in Burswood, have been flagged as the likely operator of the new tavern and function centre.

The beachfront site was sold for $11.6 million back in February last year.

A website devoted to the development shows an artist’s impression of the future hotel.

The planned building has two storeys with ocean views from a balcony and a generously sized beer garden.

The council voted at its December meeting to approve demolition of the abandoned Kent Street building and downgrade its significance from category A to C on the city’s heritage management list.

This meant it was no longer classed as “essential to the heritage” of Rockingham.

Not everyone was happy about the plans for the site; Rockingham Museum curator Wendy Durant was a key figure in the fight to save the 125-year-old hotel.

In November, she nominated the hotel for listing on the State Register of Heritage Places, but it was rejected by the Heritage Council.

In recent years, the abandoned buildings were a target for crime, with firefighters called to blazes in both the hotel and nightclub buildings in recent months.

In submissions to the council about the demolition proposal, 77 per cent of respondents revealed they were in favour.

The surrounding limestone walls and Norfolk Island pines will be saved and the landowner will have to submit a heritage interpretation plan for “cataloguing and storage of heritage materials” recovered from the hotel.

These materials are expected to be incorporated into the future development at the site and a photographic archival record of the existing building.