“Any application for redevelopment of the site will be reviewed very carefully by us,and by that I mean very carefully,” deputy lord mayor Nicholas Reece said.

“Melbourne has lost too many of its heritage pubs and its important we protect venues like the John Curtin Hotel not just as an important building in a heritage precinct,but also as a venue with enormous cultural and social significance to our city.”

The interim protection means that the heritage value of The Curtin must be considered in any proposal to redevelop the site but it is still possible for the new owner to just keep the facade of the pub and turn it into apartments.

“The social value of heritage buildings like The Curtin is recognised in Victoria’s heritage planning system but it is an area that is still in development and there remains uncertainty as to exactly where the boundaries lie,” Reece said.

Felicity Watson,advocacy manager for the National Trust of Australia,said the pub was protected by a local heritage overlay in the Melbourne Planning Scheme which meant that any proposed development would have to consider the heritage values of the hotel in line with the City of Melbourne’s heritage policy.

“The City of Melbourne is proposing to upgrade this protection through the current Carlton Heritage Review and we call on the Minister for Planning to urgently grant interim protection to the Curtin and other significant places identified in the review which may be vulnerable to redevelopment,” Watson said.

The Curtin has also been home to waves of contemporary live music ranging from experimental to punk and was one of the first places where emerging Aboriginal artists could play in the ’80s.

Music Victoria chief executive Simone Schinkel said she hoped changes to planning schemes in 2020 requiring councils and developers to consider the detrimental impact a development proposal would have on opportunities for live music would offer some level of protection.

“This is a test case for the changes to planning laws,” she said. ” Until you test it you don’t know how good[the protection] is. All the things are in place but if someone has an agenda of finding a loophole they will.”

Schinkel said Music Victoria would do all it could behind the scenes to make sure everyone understood their obligations.

“The Curtin has a long,long history for live music,lots of people have been showcased there over the years and it is the sort of size that is important,you need to keep the small,medium and large venues.“

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