Newtown Hotel refurb still on
Notification of a $3 million re-development of the Newtown Hotel site has been re-posted, following a clerical error.
The development application has been reposted for community comment after a City of Sydney clerical error led to the notification being taken down sooner than the required 30 days.
The application, submitted on behalf of Newtown Hotel Holdings, looks to reinvigorate the long-desolate site with a makeover that harks back to the building’s 19th century heritage.
There are plans to incorporate a colonial-style wrap-around verandah as part of an upstairs dining and bar space, which would sit atop a more casual dining and drinking space on the ground level.
Permission has been sought to run the space seven days a week, from 10am-midnight.
No mention has been made whether the space would be run as a specifically gay and lesbian venue, and the extensive hotel history essay attached to the application failed to make any reference to the hotel’s connection with the community.
Up until 2007 the Newtown Hotel — under the guidance of former licensee David McHugh and previous owner the late Dawn O’Donnell — was run as an openly gay and lesbian venue, complete with rainbow flags and drag shows.
In November 2007 McHugh was controversially evicted from the premises by the building’s owners, with less than 24 hours notice, after a disagreement over building repairs.
Negotiations between both sides continued for months, but stalled in late 2008 when the building owners bypassed discussions to apply for their own liquor licence.
info: To view the DA, visit www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au and go to development applications list.
DA: D/2009/2192.
