A Sydney council has ordered builders to stop work and lay down tools after discovering unapproved demolition taking place inside Paddington’s much-loved Unicorn Hotel, sparking concerns over a potential loss of the iconic pub’s original heritage fabric.
In February, Woollahra Council discovered unauthorised construction at the hotel – all the existing floors, internal walls, internal stairs, and the entire roof were demolished before the owners lodged their development application in March, and before the council had a chance to approve or deny the request.
Images show substantial works have taken place and only the external heritage shell of the building remains. Woollahra Council has since asked the owners to stop work onsite and has issued them with two development control orders, a spokesperson confirmed.
The pub on Oxford Street is one of the oldest in the suburb, its roots dating back to the 19th century. It is among seven in the eastern suburbs that Woollahra Council heritage listed in 2020.
The Unicorn Hotel changed hands in April 2024 when its former owners Kenny Graham and Jake Smyth’s Mary’s Group, which had operated the venue since 2015, sold it to JDA Collective for about $12 million. JDA also owns the Great Southern Bar, Mountbatten Hotel and the Crystal Palace Hotel.
In September 2024, it announced that the Unicorn would temporarily close for renovations, with a goal to “maintain its unique character while giving it a refreshing update”.
The hotel’s clientele has been described as eastern suburbs glamour meets Surry Hills hipster, with the previous owners having ushered in a “pokie-free template for renewal that every other pub in the country could do well to take inspiration from”.
The original development application, which was approved in December 2024, included replacement of the bathrooms, internal demolition of the stairs, office and commercial kitchen, and the refurbishment of the courtyard as well as replacement of the main bar and lift.
A recent development application, which was lodged in March, sought to amend the older application so that builders could undertake emergency structural remedial works, with consent to supersede relevant components of previous existing approval.
Engineers discovered that slabs on the ground floor and first floor, along with sections of the roof, suffered from “concrete cancer” and were “significantly dilapidated and structurally compromised”.
Councillor Harriet Price said the breach in planning laws raised serious questions about why demolition had occurred before assessment and authorisation, with a lack of proper heritage oversight.
“My concern is that such works should be firmly grounded in proper heritage practice, engineering justification and compliance with planning controls,” she said.
Price added that the hotel was a “much loved Paddington landmark”, and the community had looked forward to its revamped offering.
“Sadly, the internal demolition has been undertaken in advance of proper assessment,” she said. “The opportunity to salvage and facilitate the reuse of internal heritage fabric to create a thorough archival record of the interiors may have been lost.”
JDA Collective and builders Rohrig were contacted for comment.
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
