Guildford Hotel owners win right for five-storey tower
The owners of the Guildford Hotel will be able to push on with building a residential tower behind the historic pub after Planning Minister John Day gave them the green light to build up to five storeys on the site.
An early artist's impression of one of the Guildford Hotel plans.
Original plans for the high-density housing development included up to seven storeys of apartments and retail, but the City of Swan council moved to impose a two-storey limit on the site earlier this year.
Announcing the plans a year ago, Guildford Hotel co-owner Luke Martino said the residential development was necessary to make the costly restoration of the rundown hotel viable.
The heritage-listed hotel was gutted by fire in 2008 and has been the subject of passionate community debate ever since.
Works to restore the venue to its former glory have been under way since November and the first beer is expected to be poured in the pub early next year.
The hotel’s belvedere – the landmark feature of the 130-year-old building – was destroyed in the fire, but a new one has been constructed and it is expected to be erected in the coming weeks.
The amendment to the local planning scheme allows multiple dwellings to be built at the rear of the site, which is currently zoned general commercial.
Construction of a residential building on the site will be subject to the lodgement and approval of a development application, which is to be advertised for public comment.
The maximum height allowed will be five storeys, or up to 17 metres, and the top two storeys will be set back from the edge of the three storeys below to respect the height of the hotel’s belvedere.
Mr Day’s decision has disappointed the City of Swan, which does not have the right to appeal it.
The Minister said the decision would balance the preservation of an important historic landmark with the appropriate growth of one of the State’s earliest settlements.
He said the hotel site’s proximity to the Guildford train station made it a suitable location for a residential development that respected the heritage value of the area.
“Almost half of the 800,000 new homes needed in Perth and Peel by 2050 to accommodate our growing population will be delivered through appropriate density along major transport corridors and infrastructure,” Mr Day said.
Source: The West Australian, Phoebe Wearne, 20th November 2015
Originally published as: Guildford Hotel owners win right for five-storey tower
