A DEVELOPER who knocked down a 90-year-old Richmond factory in contravention of a planning permit has been ordered to rebuild the original walls brick by brick.

Soon after the planning permit for a small four-storey block of flats in 7 Newry Street was issued in March last year, developers razed the original brick building.

The exterior wall of the Newry Street factory in Richmond before it was torn down.

On the site now, tucked away in the heart of the once-working-class suburb, there is no trace of the historic red-brick factory that was supposed to be incorporated in the new 24-unit development.

Five weeks ago Victoria's planning tribunal made an unusual order forcing both the developer, a company owned by the directors of the Crema Group, and builder Kubic Pty Ltd to reconstruct three of the factory's original walls.