Daylesford pub had no outdoor dining permit at time of deadly crash, court told

The crash occurred outside The Royal Daylesford Hotel in 2023. (ABC News)

A coronial inquiry into a deadly 2023 crash in the regional Victorian town of Daylesford has heard that the business where the crash occurred did not have a valid outdoor dining licence at the time.

Five people died while dining outside The Royal Daylesford Hotel after 69-year-old William Swale had a severe hypoglycaemic episode while driving his car.

A Victorian court has heard that a regional pub where five people died in a road accident did not have a valid outdoor dining permit at the time of the crash.

In November 2023, five people were dining outside The Royal Daylesford Hotel in central Victoria when a vehicle left the road, crashing into two families.

Pratibha Sharma, 44, her daughter Anvi, nine, partner Jatin Kumar, 30, their friend Vivek Bhatia, 38, and his son Vihaan, 11, were killed while six others were injured.

William Swale, now 69, had a severe hypoglycaemic episode before the collision, and has previously given evidence to the coronial inquiry.

The inquiry continued today in the Coroner's Court of Victoria in Melbourne.

Hepburn Shire Council director development and community Ron Torres gave evidence in the court today, and confirmed the hotel did not have an active outdoor dining permit at the time of the collision.

Pratibha Sharma, her daughter Anvi, partner Jatin Kumar, their friend Vivek Bhatia and his son Vihaan were killed. (Supplied)

Mr Torres told the court that The Royal Daylesford Hotel first made an application for outdoor dining in 2020, which was granted.

The permit expired at the end of June 2022, but all businesses were given extensions on their permits until July 2023.

Proprietors applied for a licence renewal within days of being contacted by the council in September 2023.

When asked what not having a valid outdoor dining licence meant, Mr Torres said: "It means there was no formal permission to have the equipment, or outdoor tables and chairs, in that location."

The Royal Daylesford Hotel, pictured after the fatal crash. (ABC News: Kristofor Lawson)

When asked about any site inspections or risk assessments undertaken by the council, Mr Torres said he was not aware of any records of inspections of The Royal Daylesford Hotel and its outdoor space.

Mr Torres was not employed by the Hepburn Shire Council until September 2023.

"Beyond alerting the hotel that they didn't have a valid permit and going through a process of encouraging [them] to apply, I'm not sure of further actions beyond then," Mr Torres said.

Hepburn Shire Council pla