Almost three years ago, tragedy struck the Royal Daylesford Hotel when a driver drove into a crowded outdoor area of the venue.
The crash killed five people including two children and injured six others.
The driver, William Swale, had experienced a severe hypoglycaemic episode at the time of the incident, causing him to leave the road and crash into the diners.
While charges against Swale were later dismissed, the case is still ongoing.
Last week, the Coroner’s Court of Victoria heard evidence given by Ron Torres, director development and community of Hepburn Shire Council, who confirmed that at the time of the accident the Royal Daylesford Hotel did not have an active outdoor dining permit.
Torres said the pub was first granted an outdoor dining permit in 2020, which was valid until July 2023. An application for renewal was made just days after the Council highlighted the issue in early September the same year.
He told the court that as the licence was expired, there “there was no formal permission to have the equipment, or outdoor tables and chairs, in that location” at the time of the event.
Coroner Dimitra Dubrow asked if the application was still being processed at the time of the incident, to which Torres confirmed it was highly likely.
Torres, who was not employed by the Council until September 2023, was unsure if any compliance conversations had taken place between the council and hotel nor if any site inspections or risk assessments were undertaken.
Torres pointed out that at that time, the council only had two officers to undertake site inspections who serviced a large municipality, and agreed the outdoor policy required a greater risk assessment built in.
Evidence presented to the inquiry showed that Hepburn Shire Council had since reviewed its outdoor dining permit arrangements and commissioned a road safety audit. As a result, the speed limit through the town was lowered from 50 km/h to 40 km/h.
The council has since made plans to close the intersection where the accident occurred to vehicles and transform it into a green zone.
Earlier this year, Swale apologised to the Coroners Court, saying the accident was an “incomprehensible tragedy”.
“It has been rather traumatising I guess to me as well and I think of them from the moment I wake up to the moment I sleep and they are always with me,” Swale said.
“We’re getting on better now but they’re always with me … this as a catastrophe, it should not have happened, and I’m devastated I was a part of it.”
