SINGAPORE - Singapore property developer Wee Hur Holdings has come under fire for its plans to turn a 171-year-old hotel in Adelaide in South Australia, which houses one of the oldest pubs there, into a student housing block.

In March, the mainboard-listed company filed an application to redevelop The Crown & Anchor Hotel, which has a popular live music bar known by locals as the Cranker, into student accommodations.

This sparked a petition called Save the Cranker, which was put up on Change.org on March 22 and has garnered more than 19,000 signatures as at April 19.

Wee Hur proposed “partial demolition and adaptive reuse” of the heritage-listed building, which was built in 1853 and rebuilt in the 1880s. The two-storey hotel sits on a site in Grenfell Street in east Adelaide.

According to details published on South Australia’s online planning and development system on April 19, the building would be demolished, leaving two front-facing walls.

Seventeen storeys, comprising more than 700 studio and “queen” rooms, would be built on top of it.

The well-loved bar on the ground floor would be replaced by a retail space and cafe with an adjacent laundry and waste room.

The development will also have a yoga and dancing room, as well as study areas.

The website states that these plans are under consultation.

In response to queries from The Straits Times, the oversight board for the Save the Cranker campaign said the hotel has hosted local live music for over 30 years and contributes to Adelaide’s designation as a Unesco City Of Music.

It said it is not anti-development, but is concerned that the site “is very much a leader of our cultural landscape and provides our city and community the very vibrancy that makes it an attractive place for students to study in the first place”.

It added that it has written to Wee Hur in the hope of discussing the possibility of redirecting the development proposal to another location.

In its e-mail to Wee Hur on April 5, it said it is not against student accommodation, but is lobbying for mindful consideration of Adelaide’s cultural landmarks.

“Our substantial support base is ready to positively endorse Wee Hur Holdings’ future projects that align with community values and sustainable development principles at a more appropriate location,” said the board, which has a team of about 30 people behind it, including the Cranker’s patrons, local musicians and cultural heritage advocates.

As at April 19, Wee Hur had not responded to the e-mail. It also did not respond to ST’s request for comment.

The site is owned by South Australian developer Karidis Corporation.

The developer also received criticism for its purchase of the hotel in 2016 and its plans to build a high-rise apartment building next to it, reported Adelaide-based newspaper InDaily.

It is unclear if Wee Hur has acquired The Crown & Anchor Hotel.

Adelaide architecture firm Dash Architects, which was appointed by Wee Hur to prepare a heritage impact statement for the site, supported the redevelopment plans.

In its report, it stated that the new areas above and beside the retained sections of the hotel maintain heritage values.

It said: “While acknowledging the proposed development is of a notable larger scale than the local heritage listed Crown & Anchor Hotel, the heritage place’s contribution to the historic character has been maintained, and arguably notably enhanced by the proposed retention and conservation of the historic street facades.”

Wee Hur owns seven student housing properties in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Canberra, consisting of more than 5,600 beds, according to its website.

It entered the purpose-built student accommodation business in 2015 with a 1,500-bed property in Brisbane.

A purpose-built residence offers housing specifically built for tertiary students by private developers.

In Singapore, the developer’s portfolio includes the Parc Botannia condominium in Sengkang, which was completed in 2022, and the upcoming Bartley Vue condo.

It has also built several Housing Board Build-To-Order projects in Bartley, Sengkang and Yishun, as well as condominiums and commercial buildings.

Mr Tom Skipper, who operates The Crown & Anchor Hotel, told ST he wishes for the hotel to be preserved.

“As Australia’s first and only Unesco City of Music, we need to preserve live music venues. A thriving city is full of different venues with personality – we need diverse entertainment options,” he said.