Iconic Ballina ‘windmill’ house’s fate depends on a demolition application lodged with council

It’s one of the town’s best-loved properties, and sold for $1.4 million three years ago. Now the site looks set to be cleared to make way for a new development.

Generations of people of stopped to admire this house at 58 Shelley Beach Rd, East Ballina, which was decorated by former owner Peter Gutter.

The fate of an iconic ‘windmill house’ in East Ballina depends on a demolition application lodged with the council.

The application to demolish the popular home was lodged on June 3 by Ardill Payne and Partners on behalf of a landowner with a Sydney address.

The demolition is expected to cost around $30,000, including capping of sewer and water mains.

Often called the windmill or lighthouse home, due to the intricate array of original tiled ornaments, the original 1960s home at 58 Shelly Beach Rd, Ballina, may end up as rubble.

Generations of residents and visitors stopped to admire the quirky home, which was decorated by former owner Peter Gutter.

The 727 sqm property was sold for $1.4 million in 2018.

At the time, McGrath agent David Sommerville, who was in charge of the sale, said the property was both a unique work of art and a desirable development site.

He said Mr Gutter started off making a decorated letterbox in an effort to get drivers to slow down, after a number of his beloved cats were killed on the road.

From there, Mr Gutter’s artistic flair grew to create a decorated garden and house before he passed away.

“There are two model lighthouses in the front garden and the one on the left is modelled on one in Holland by the previous owner Peter Gutter who was Dutch,” he said.

“The other lighthouse is modelled on the one at Byron Bay.”