As the Save The Cranker campaign gears up for a second rally on Sunday in order to maintain pressure on the state government over the bid to destroy the East End live music venue, the Premier said high-level talks had been occurring behind the scenes.

He talked to InDaily after a report on FIVEaa earlier on Thursday morning said that it was believed the Premier was talking to developers and that a breakthrough agreement on the pub’s future was potentially imminent.

“I’m happy to confirm that I and other senior government officials have been working really hard to find a solution to the challenge that we’ve got here” Malinauskas said.

The Premier said there was a delicate balancing act between trying to save the historic hotel trading since 1853 – and now under provisional state heritage listing while investigations continue into potential full listing – and ensuring continued building investment in the city.

“I’ve always been persuaded that losing the Cranker would be unfortunate – it’s an important little cultural institution and it matters to a lot of people,” he said.

“But so is doing a lot more student accommodation in the city. We need more accommodation. We’ve got a housing supply crisis that affects everyone and we’ve got aspirations and ambitions to grow the number of international students in our city, with particularly the new university, but also Flinders’ advancement. So we need more student accommodation.

“So what we’ve been doing is trying to see if there isn’t a public policy response that can preserve both investment and more student accommodation, and two, the preservation of the Cranker. Now, that’s been really tricky. It’s got a number of moving parts, but we have been investing a lot of effort into it and there has been some movement.

“And we have made substantial progress on where we were a few months ago, but at the same time there’s still work to be done. And it would be premature to say that we think this will be achieved, but it’s true that we’ve been working on it.”

The 19-storey student housing block proposed for the Crown & Anchor site and Grenfell St frontage between Frome and Union streets. Image: Plan SA

Malinauskas said he would continue talking with Singapore developer Wee Hur Holdings over its plans, which if approved would see the successfully trading pub demolished with just two walls left as a facade, with a 19-storey tower rising on the Grenfell St site to Frome Street and including the current Roxies and Chateau Apollo venues.

The Premier said he had talked with the Save the Cranker group: “They’re a legitimate stakeholder here, so we want to work with all parties.”

He told InDaily that talks with the developer were ongoing.

“I mean, I’d love to land something in the next few days, but there’s no guarantee of that. I would have loved to have landed something a month ago, and we haven’t been able to do that.

“So there’s still some work to be achieved, but we’re operating within a timeframe and I, as Premier, as a stakeholder, we’re all in on finding a solution if one can be found. But if one isn’t found then, you know, so be it. But I don’t want to die wondering. I don’t want the Cranker to die wondering.

“I anticipate the rally will be big, and I get it. What people who attend that rally deserve to know is that the Premier of the state has got more than a passing interest in finding a solution here. We are actually committing some effort here, but that doesn’t guarantee an outcome, right? There may need to be a bit of give and take, for everybody here.”

Only a facade of the Crown & Anchor would be retained under the developer’s plan for a 19-storey student housing block. Image: Brown Falconer/Plan

SA Greens MLC Robert Simms welcomed news that the state government was in talks with the developer, saying it “demonstrates the power of community activism on this issue”.

“It’s vital that any deal reached between the Government and the developer guarantees the long-term future of this iconic pub as a live music venue,” he said.

“A stay of execution won’t be enough. We need to ensure that it has the protection it deserves. It’s part of the beating heart of Adelaide and we can’t afford to lose it.

“This whole saga has exposed the flaws in our state’s planning system. It’s currently skewed in favour of vested interests and developers, rather than the community. The Greens will continue to push for changes to our planning laws to beef up the cultural and social aspects of heritage protection.”

Adelaide-based Karidis Corporation bought the local heritage-listed Crown & Anchor in 2016, after earlier buying the land next to it. Wee Hur Holdings lodged its development application in March this year.

Public submissions for state heritage listing for the Crown & Anchor can be made until November 3 and the State Commission Assessment Panel will not consider the development application until after that date.

The Government Architect’s submission to SCAP said the pub should remain as is due to its “cultural and social significance” and that the developer’s plan had not demonstrated “a positive contribution to the vibrancy of this part of the city”.

Pub supporters have lodged a record 1300 submissions arguing for it to be saved from demolition, while heritage assessments have pointed out the venue’s history, including a well under the front bar believed to be up to 180 years old.

Photo: David Simmons/InDaily.