City of Greater Geraldton continues with legal action as contractors for Batavia Motor Inne need demo licence

The City of Greater Geraldton is continuing with its legal action against the owners of Batavia Motor Inne to demolish the site after the most recent contractor was found to not hold a suitable licence. In another setback in the bid to level the derelict site, the council had given the final go-ahead to demolish the rundown motel after Western Power assessed the site in May, but since then they have discovered the owner’s chosen contractor did not hold a licence for commercial demolition. Mayor Shane Van Styn, who lives next door to the Batavia Motor Inne, said the directors had referred to several different demolition contractors in their documentation and with the most recent falling through, the City would continue its legal action against them. “The latest demolition contractor was found to not have a licence to conduct demolition works on commercial property and as such are not able to undertake the works,” he said. “City staff continues to try and liaise with the directors, however, noting this is the second demolition contractor they have claimed to have appointed and is no longer going to do the works, we are getting frustrated hence the need to continue pushing the parts down the legal avenue.” Mr Van Styn said the company was in the process of formalising and obtaining the licence. “We’ve spoken to local demolition contractors that would be ready to go and do the demolition but to date, 54 Fitzgerald St doesn’t seem interested in doing so,” he said. Bunhu Mining Marine Civils and Construction is a civil contractor in the mining space, dealing with heavy haulage carting in the region, but it’s understood the company does not hold the appropriate licensing or accreditation to undertake commercial demolition. Bunhu Mining managing director Terry Danda said the company was trying to source a Class 1 licence holder, but it was proving difficult and the company was in negotiations with the City to demolish the buildings less than 10 m in height as they only require a class 2 licence. “We’re still trying to find someone who can help us with sourcing a supervisor with the class 1 demolition licence,” he said. Fencing was installed at the site in January and the gates were locked in April. The eyesore has been the scene of violent crimes, sex attacks and antisocial behaviour, and has attracted dozens of rough sleepers, who authorities have tried to find alternative accommodation for. Geraldton police officer-in-charge Sen. Sgt Chris Martin would not comment on the demolition process, but said police continued to work closely with the City and neighbouring residents to prevent people from entering the site. “There’s been a lot of work done by ourselves, the City of Greater Geraldton, the local residents that are in the area to get the place secured and locked up. The last thing we want is people going in there particularly juveniles going in the and causing a mess, because it’s already in a pretty poor state,” he said. Joe Scaffidi, a co-director of 54 Fitzgerald St Pty Ltd, was contacted for comment.