One of Port Melbourne's most popular waterfront pubs, the 100-year-old London Hotel opposite Station Pier, could be bulldozed to make way for apartments.
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The local historical society is furious the London Hotel could soon be razed for an eight-level block of units.
"It's the only bit that we have left - everything else has been turned into luxury apartments," said Pat Grainger, secretary of the Port Melbourne Historical and Preservation Society.
Port Phillip Council is not opposing the demolition.
A company owned by Middle Park resident Gary Busuttil bought the hotel three years ago for $4 million.
Mr Busuttil could not be contacted for comment on Tuesday, and it was not clear if his company, TA Brockie, was behind the proposal to demolish the London Hotel.
The plan for 32 apartments went to Port Phillip Council in December, but the council failed to make a decision on the proposal within 60 days. It has now been taken to the state planning tribunal by planners Urbis.
Planning Minister Richard Wynne's spokeswoman said that, as Port Phillip Council had not asked him to put a heritage protection order stopping the hotel's demolition, "at this stage there is no real role for us".
The building, which was built in 1861, has been repeatedly altered and its art deco facade was added in 1941, the historical society believes. But the building does not have any heritage protection.
More than 100 objections have been lodged with Port Phillip Council.
Mayor Bernadene Voss acknowledged that the site and building had been a corner hotel for more than 100 years. But she said that, despite its age, the building had been altered repeatedly.
It did not, Cr Voss said, "meet the threshold of local significance when compared to more intact examples".
She said council officer assessments had shown the London Hotel was "not of local architectural or cultural significance and does not warrant heritage protection".
"The officer's view is supported by multiple studies which all came to the same findings," she said.
Because of this the council would not ask the planning minister to intervene to stop the demolition.
The historical society's Ms Grainger said that it had been a "great shock to the community" that the hotel had no heritage protection.
"Everybody is just mind-boggled to think we are going to lose the London," she said. "That's the only historical building we have left along this area of the waterfront."
