$7.5m plan for new upper north shore pub, gaming venue

The upper north shore could soon have a new drinking hole under plans for a $7.5 million pub and gaming venue in Thornleigh. But not everyone is happy with the proposal:

The upper north shore could soon have a new drinking hole under plans for a $7.5 million pub and gaming venue in Thornleigh.

The Ibis Hotel on Pennant Hills Rd has released plans to expand the venue into a public pub that would be called the ‘Thornleigh Tavern’ and cater up to 200 patrons at a time.

The proposal would involve rebuilding sections of the hotel to make way for new features including a bistro, sports bar, smoking bar, and a VIP lounge with gaming machines.

A concept plan of the new pub

The 105-room Ibis Hotel would continue to operate alongside the new venue.

Plans to Hornsby Council said the plan would have “social benefits” for the community and contribute to the suburb’s food and drink offerings.

“The proposed alterations and additions to the premises will provide a more attractive venue for the community to attend,” the plans state.

“Further, the proposal will enhance the overall viability and functionality of the site, through a new space for socialisation within the community.

A concept plan of the $7.5 million project

“It also provides an improved opportunity for social interaction in an area that is otherwise limited of such opportunities, particularly for those employed in the area”.

Plans show the bistro could seat up to 90 people at a time while the sports bar would accommodate 42 patrons, the smoking lounge 38, and VIP lounge would have up to 30.

The hotel would continue to operate on a 24-hour basis while the pub would trade from 7am to midnight Monday to Saturday and to 10pm on Sundays.

The development would stand opposite the Chinese Australian Baptist Church which is currently looking at the plans to scope potential impacts.

The Ibis Hotel would continue to operate as part of the proposal.

Church member Ian Clarke said he did not have any direct concerns over the proposal, but noted there were ongoing issues around gaming in the broader community.

“Fundamentally we all know it does tremendous harm, the way gambling done in NSW is making a lot of poor people poorer and wrecking a whole lot of families,” he said.

“From that point of view we don’t like it anywhere and as a matter of principle we’re absolutely against it.

“But the fact it’s happening next to us, we’re not NIMBYs or trying to annoy the neighbours. We’ll certainly be looking at the plans.”

The site is located on Pennant Hills Rd.

Plans to the council said the proposal would have “limited impacts on adjoining” buildings and could be managed as part of a plan of management.

The plan would include an incident register to be kept at the premises, CCTV cameras, and hotel staff would also encourage self-exclusion plans on request by patrons.

Traffic modelling shows the 72 carparks at the site would be 50-space shortfall on the 122 required under the scope of the development, however the plans noted the site has currently operated with an existing shortfall without issue.

Ibis was contacted for further comment but did not provide a response at the time of publication.

The proposal is currently under assessment by Hornsby Council and is open for public feedback.