This Saturday eight years ago, a suspicious fire destroyed the historical Diggers Rest Hotel leaving a smouldering emptiness for the township of Diggers Rest.
Although the community remains divided on the future of the hotel, it has become a centre piece for urban exploration. Like a scene from a horror movie, the video by Colin Ewington takes a look beyond its burnt exterior to reveal the internal destruction of that October night in 2008.
Given the length of time that has lapsed since the fire, any existing use right has expired, and under the current zoning of the land, the use of the land for a hotel is prohibited. However, the presence of a Heritage Overlay control on the site would allow Council to consider an application for a rebuild of a Hotel, bistro and bottle shop.
The Heritage Overlay control in the Melton Planning Scheme identifies the site as one where prohibited uses may be permitted (subject to a permit) and provided that any rebuild will not adversely affect the significance of the heritage place and the benefits obtained from the use of the land for a hotel can be applied towards the conservation of the heritage place.