A VCAT decision to remove a long-planned hospitality space from the Mentone Hotel redevelopment has been labelled “deeply disappointing” by Kingston Council.
Late last month, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal granted a permit to applicant Mentone Bayside Corporation Pty Ltd to replace the planned hospitality space with two apartment dwellings. The decision overrides a settlement agreement reached in 2018 which allowed for the site redevelopment to proceed with a requirement for a food and drink premises.
The published VCAT decision read that Mentone Bayside had “applied to the council for permission to amend the permit to replace the food and drink premises with two two-bedroom apartments and to reallocate basement car parking spaces reserved for food and drink premises staff and patron use to residential use. After the council failed to decide the application within the prescribed period, Mentone Bayside applied to the Tribunal to review the failure to decide.”
Kingston Council argued that the replacement of the hospitality space with apartments would have a detrimental social impact. Its submission to VCAT stated that the proposed amendment would “give rise to unacceptable social impacts as a result of the loss of the licensed food and drink premises which provided a direct link to the site’s former land use, its social heritage significance and its demonstrated importance as demonstrated through the significant number of objections received and the 10 years of work undertaken by the ‘Save the Edgy’ Group and other residents groups that have campaigned for the site to be retained as a working hotel open to the public.”
VCAT’s final decision refuted the social impacts of the amendment. The decision read “the two dwellings does not change the current three-dimensional envelope of the former hotel or change in any fundamental way the external appearance of the former hotel.
“Second, the loss is not of the Mentone Hotel. When the Mentone Hotel was operating it had a social effect. The loss of the Mentone Hotel occurred more than a decade ago. Refusing the amendment application will not preserve a beneficial social effect that local people may have characterised as significant.”
The proposed amendment to remove the hospitality requirement came “after concerted and costly efforts to tenant the space over a number of years”, the VCAT decision read. The COVID-19 pandemic was singled out as a key reason for the hospitality plans falling through.
The VCAT decision has been slammed by Kingston Council, which issued a statement last week expressing its disappointment.
“We are deeply disappointed by the recent VCAT ruling, which removes the previously agreed hospitality section from the former Mentone Hotel site. Council stood alongside local residents at the VCAT hearing, strongly advocating for the retention of a hospitality use and continued public access to this much‑loved heritage building,” council’s statement read.
“This outcome is particularly disheartening given the hotel’s long history as a community gathering place and the significant effort made by the community and council to see it remain accessible to the public. We know how important this site is to Mentone, and we share the community’s frustration that this opportunity has been lost. Council remains committed to advocating for outcomes that respect Kingston’s heritage, character and shared places.”
VCAT’s final decision noted that the Save The Edgy group, which has been campaigning to save the hospitality space for more than a decade, launched a failed bid to purchase the space last year. The land subject to the proposed amendment was referred to as Lot G02, a 416 square metre area mostly located on the ground floor.
“On 23 October 2025, the [Save the Edgy] Group met with Mentone Bayside and offered to purchase Lot G02 for $3.5 million (including costs) through an entity the Group would facilitate establishing. The Group planned to tap community support to establish the entity and fund the acquisition through a share issue and it believed such support existed,” the VCAT decision read. “The Group told Mentone Bayside it had a potential operator of a food and drink premises willing to enter a lease for $185,000 per annum rent and carry out the fit out at its expense without a landlord incentive. The Group planned to go public seeking investor support shortly after the meeting.
“Although Mentone Bayside was prepared to sell Lot G02 for around $3.3 million, Mentone Bayside found the proposal was undeveloped in relation to structure of the entity, evidence of anticipated investors, and a plan to purchase (including a settlement timeframe) Lot G02. “Having regard to Mentone Bayside’s response and the short period of time before the hearing of this proceeding starting on 3 December 2025, [Save the Edgy leader] Mr Martin said the Group withdrew its offer, did not proceed with the public campaign and decided to focus on preparing for the proceeding.
First published in the Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News – 15 April 2026