Annandale: Plan for Parramatta Rd hotel sparks community backlash

Inner west residents have expressed outrage over plans for a 200-room multi-storey hotel in a heritage conservation area on one of Sydney’s busiest roads. See the plans.

An aerial view of the hotel site in yellow and red at Parramatta Rd.

Multimillion-dollar plans for a 200-room hotel in a popular inner-city suburb have outraged residents who have slammed the potential loss of heritage and a rise in traffic congestion.

Premier Capital & Construction has submitted plans to Inner West Council for a $34m multi-storey hotel at 45-57 Parramatta Rd, Annandale.

Planners for the project, which will see the amalgamation of seven lots on Parramatta Rd between Trafalgar and Nelson streets, said a series of ground-floor businesses would be included in the development.

The site does not have heritage status under the council’s local environmental plan but it is in the Annandale heritage conservation area and includes one building that was constructed from 1880.

Some residents claim the proposal would result in the destruction of the heritage of Parramatta Rd.

Parramatta road hotel artist impression.

“Some houses would be nice but give me a large modern hotel over a large traffic sewer any day,” one Facebook user jokingly said.

“Certainly, would dominate the area, and not respectful to it either,” another said.

“I have a problem with facadism. Like Greenwash, it is a poor miserable token effort to respect our heritage,” another said.

However, developers for the project said the proposed hotel would see a “contemporary” building constructed at the site.

“The proposal will increase the massing and scale of the built forms on the site as viewed from the surrounding area,” the planner said.

“The impact is acceptable because no significant view corridors into the conservation area will be blocked.’

According to the development plan, it would retain the existing buildings’ facades to keep similar structure of surrounding buildings that would “ultimately complement the existing streetscape”.

However, a major cause for concern within the community are problems relating to traffic, lack of parking and overcrowding.

“Nobody wants a continuous stream of deliveries, taxis, guests, staff and others flooding their streets and taking all the parking,” one Facebook user said.

“Seems more like a boarding house or student accommodation - 31 parking spaces won’t even be enough for staff and will increase traffic through local areas,” another said.

Subject to approval, the Parramatta Rd building will have 33 parking spaces for hotel valet and staff.

The development report claimed it would only add 16 vehicles to the morning peak hour and an additional 80 vehicle trips in the evening peak hour.