Hundreds of people have protested against a plan to transform an historic Adelaide hotel into a multi-storey student accommodation building.
The Crown and Anchor, affectionately known as ‘The Cranker’, is a popular pub and live music venue, located on Grenfell Street in Adelaide’s east end.
Singaporean development company Wee Hur Holdings has submitted an application to the State Planning Commission to partially demolish the structure and construct a multi-storey student accommodation facility with a shop and café on the ground floor.
The protest attracted a large crowd with attendees concerned at the potential loss of the venue as well as the planned height of the multi-storey facility.
Architectural drawings of the plan show a tall, square and modern structure with well over a dozen storeys.
One protester, Jordan Kierns, said he had been going to the the Crown and Anchor since he was 18 years old and did not want to see it disappear.
“This is a great place, it’s got such character and community and if you just keep taking that out of the city [then] what’s the point,” Mr Kierns said.
Another protester, Tyrone Dutreix-Sampson, said he wanted to support the pub and grassroot music events.
“It’s one of the few places in the city that still holds a sense of its own character,” Mr Dutreix-Sampson said.
“We’re losing those venues that have a sense of characters for the students and young folk who don’t necessarily have lots of money to spend on big festivals.”
Musicians concerned about pub’s future
One local musician, Syd Nielsen, said the hotel “meant everything to us”.
“That’s just where I spend all of my time, I can’t imagine it not being there,” Ms Nielsen said.
Opposition Leader David Speirs also questioned whether more could be done for the facility to receive State Heritage Listing.
“I am passionate about protecting heritage buildings in our state and I recognise the value the Crown and Anchor Hotel has for so many in our community,” Mr Speirs said in a statement.
However, opposition planning spokesperson Michelle Lensink said the Liberals were not opposed to the development and wanted to explore options for the pub and accommodation to co-exist.
Deputy Premier Susan Close said she was pleased the chair of the heritage council had put interim protection over the Crown and Anchor.
“That’s going to take time to go through … it cannot be demolished … in a few months time we will be able to get the level of protection required,” Ms Close said.
The State Planning Commission website invited public submissions on the proposal.
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