The "cowboy" developers who illegally demolished an historic Melbourne pub have been fined more than $20,000 for failing to cover up dumped asbestos.
Under-fire developers Stefce Kutlesovski and Raman Shaqiri have promised to rebuild the 159-year-old Corkman Irish Pub they knocked down without a permit 13 days ago.
The pledge came after the Victorian government and the City of Melbourne launched action at VCAT to force the Carlton pub to be rebuilt in line with the design, scale and layout of the demolished building.
"We want to make absolutely clear that we will rebuild the building at our expense," The Age reports the pair saying in a letter.
They also said they ignored planning rules because of a combination of "legal advice, engineering advice, weather forecast and injury litigation".
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The Environment Protection Authority announced on Friday the pair had been fined an extra $15,000 for failing to cover asbestos from the site, which was illegally dumped in an outer suburb.
The developers had already been fined $7500, taking their combined fines to $22,500 with more to come.
The demolition of the pub and subsequent illegal asbestos removal has prompted investigations by state and local governments, the EPA, WorkSafe, Heritage Victoria, the Victorian Building Authority and the CFMEU.
