Central Pier update: Shed Nine to go this year, Esplanade disruptions ongoing

The realignment of services along Harbour Esplanade affected by the removal of Central Pier will not be complete until well into next year, a state government agency says.

Development Victoria’s acting precincts group head Imogen Lewis told Docklands News that works to take the 105-year-old pier away from Victoria Harbour were “progressing well”.

“The removal of the concrete area on the west and south of Shed 14 will continue into 2025, along with important works to realign services along Harbour Esplanade,” Ms Lewis said.

Pedestrian areas along the esplanade have long been impacted by removal works at the pier, with stretches of temporary fencing coming and going as work progresses.

Ms Lewis said removal of the pier’s Shed Nine was “on track for completion by the end of the year”.

Docklands News has long reported on the progress of the Central Pier removal project and proposals for what could replace it to activate Victoria Harbour as a waterfront destination.

Melbourne Maritime Heritage Network has this year campaigned to replace Central Pier with a multi-story floating pier featuring a maritime garden.

The organisation has also criticised Development Victoria for what it labelled a lack of “vision” for the vital heritage site.

An online community survey conducted in late 2022 received only 250 responses.

Victoria Harbour was excavated from a large swamp, a former Indigenous hunting ground, at the foot of the colonial Hoddle Grid between 1887 and 1892 and remains the oldest and largest surviving single dock in the world.

Central Pier was built in 1919 and was closed in August 2019 in controversial circumstances after being declared unsafe and immediately evacuated.

A $42 million lawsuit by former pier tenants against Development Victoria was settled in February this year.

Maritime firm Fitzgerald Constructions Australia Pty Ltd was contracted to remove the pier, and the work started in 2022.

The process is expected to take “several years” due to the unsafe nature of the structure.

Old timber, metals and concrete removed from the site are being recycled and reused in other Melbourne projects where possible. •