Plans to quarantine Australian Open players at the Westin Melbourne have been cancelled ©Marriott Hotels

Plans to quarantine Australian Open players at the Westin Melbourne have been cancelled after concerns were raised by residents on the site.

Apartment owners at the luxury hotel had threatened to take legal action after the quarantine plans for the Australian Open were revealed. 

They claimed they had not been consulted and were concerned about the health of elderly residents. 

Victorian Police Minister Lisa Neville has said the Government has found a replacement hotel.

"We became aware on Sunday (January 3) that there were some concerns that had been expressed by the residents in the apartments," she said, as reported by ABC. 

"We were also concerned this may delay the standing up of the Australian Open so we've gone through a process of securing a new site."

The Victorian Government is set to publicly announce the full list of contracted hotels next week. 

Players and coaches are expected to arrive in Melbourne in mid-January and will undergo a 14-day quarantine period to comply with regulations in place as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

They will be able to practice up to five hours a day under strict bubble arrangements devised by Tennis Australia. 

The Australian Open is then scheduled to run from February 8 to 21. 

Spectators are expected to be allowed into this year's Australian Open, although not at full capacity ©Getty Images
Spectators are expected to be allowed into this year's Australian Open, although not at full capacity ©Getty Images

Competition was pushed back to February to allow for the period of quarantine after players arrive in the country, while the men and women's qualifying events were moved to Doha and Dubai respectively.  

Spectators are due to be able to watch the competition unfold in person as organisers aim for 25 per cent of the capacity of the three main show courts.

Under the current plans, the 15,000-seater Rod Laver Arena, 7,500-seater Margaret Court Arena and the 9,600-seater John Cain Arena will hold a quarter of their capacity.

Australia is deemed to have dealt with the pandemic well in comparison to many other countries around the world, reporting more than 28,500 cases and 909 deaths, although Melbourne had been the epicentre of the country's outbreak of COVID-19 in August.

The outbreak had started at two quarantine hotels for international arrivals. 

The Australian Open was the only one of the four Grand Slams not to be impacted by the global health crisis last year. 

Serbia's Novak Djokovic and Sofia Kenin of the United States won the men's and women's titles, respectively.