Plans for new $14.1m hotel development on Station St at Bangalow in Byron Shire

A multimillion hotel development has been proposed for the little town of Bangalow in Byron Shire – but not everyone is pleased. Take a look at what’s planned.

An artist impression of what the $14.1m Bangalow hotel would look like. Picture: Supplied

Bangalow residents are concerned a proposed new $14.1 million hotel development will threaten the heritage value of the town.

Planners North has filed a development application to Byron Shire Council for a new $14.1 million two-storey hotel with 26 hotel rooms.

The build would include a cafe, gym, pavilion and two basements for 59 carparking spaces on a 1968 sqm Station St site.

An artist impression of what the hotel would look like. Picture: Supplied

Residents have taken to social media to air concerns, with some labelling the proposal for the Byron Shire town of about 3000 people “shocking” and “narrow sighted”.

Developer Cadre has been contacted for comment and to respond.

Counsellor Sandy Loyall has been a Bangalow resident for 21 years and said it was worth preserving as much of the town’s charming heritage as possible.

“Bangalow has a certain feel about it and if we keep making changes it just won’t be the same … I feel like we are guardians of the town,” she said.

“Every little historical part about it contributes to the overall charm of the town.

“There’s lots of heritage buildings, including heritage buildings on the proposed site.

“If there’s all of a sudden modern looking things it will just look out of place.”

The development application was submitted on April 6.

“The site is subject to heritage controls as it falls within the Bangalow local area of significance,” the document states.

Ms Loyall said she believed the hotel would be more suited to a larger town.

The planned location for the Bangalow hotel development. Picture: Supplied

“The historic town footprint is quite small so it just needs to be a little bit further out of town to not have that same negative impact on the feel and heritage value of the town,” she said.

“I’ve been here for a long time and I feel like I won’t be doing my best for the town if I don’t at least try to stop it from happening.”

Ms Loyall said she expected the development would not be approved and believed most people in the township deem it unacceptable.

“Why should one person’s vision of their way of making money get in the way of the whole town who live here saying ‘no thank you’.

“It doesn’t really seem reasonable that could happen.”

Ms Loyall said she would be handing a submission against the development in to the council.

What the proposed site currently looks like. Picture: Google

The site currently has a small commercial precinct on it not listed as an item of environmental heritage on the NSW State Heritage Register or the National Heritage List.

It’s also not on the Commonwealth Heritage List, the National Trust Register (NSW) or the former Register of the National Estate, but it is located in Bangalow Conservation Area.

The application will remain on exhibition by the council until May 16, but the project will be determined by the Byron Shire Council.

More information can be found on the project’s website.