THE Central City Standing Advisory Committee, established by former Planning Minister Justin Madden, has been abandoned by the new Coalition Government.

The Committee was announced just over six months ago and was a joint State Government and City of Melbourne committee that assessed developments larger than 25,000 square metres within the City of Melbourne.

At the time of its announcement, Mr Madden said the new committee would give the City of Melbourne greater involvement in major planning decisions in the CBD. The Age reports that a dispute over a University of Melbourne planning application caused major problems within the Committee.

The application, to demolish the heritage-protected Elizabeth Towers Hotel on the corner of Elizabeth Street and Grattan Street and construct a 12-storey $210 million Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, has now been taken to VCAT by the University.

The Age said that City of Melbourne representatives on the committee had concerns about the application. Disagreement over the proposal led to the cancellation of a committee meeting.

In another article, The Age said that the Victorian Government will replace the committee with a more formal model, with Planning Minister Matthew Guy stating that that Committee was axed for "structural, not personality" reasons.