A police bomb squad robot was called in to remove a bag left on a bench outside a hotel on Melbourne's Spencer Street yesterday.

Police cordoned off Spencer Street between Flinders Street and Collins Street about 5.30pm.

The robot removed a black bag from the bench directly outside Batman's Hill just before 8pm.

By 8.30pm, police had restored access to Collins and Spencer streets for pedestrians and cars.

Earlier, Victoria Police said they had shut down the intersection because they were "conducting safety checks".