Refusal expected for boarding house on Lily Street, Hurstville

A proposal to transform a two-storey home into an eight-room boarding house close to Allawah train station will be debated at an upcoming planning meeting.

The Georges River planning panel will determine an application to change a two-storey brick house at 50 Lily Street into an eight-room boarding house at a cost of $224,994. Picture: Google Maps

A proposal to transform an existing Hurstville home into an eight-room boarding house is expected to be refused at an upcoming planning meeting.

The Georges River planning panel will determine an application to change a two-storey brick house at 50 Lily Street into an eight-room boarding house at a cost of $224,994.

A Georges River Council report to the panel, which will meet on Thursday, recommends the proposal be refused.

Under council’s regulations, all boarding house applications are required to be determined by the planning panel.

The proposal will not see changes to facade of the home but the interior will become five single lodger rooms, one of which will have accessible access, and three double lodger rooms.

Each room with have a private kitchen and bench and bathroom.

The council report said the proposed development did not achieve the minimum accommodation size for three of the eight lodger rooms.

The view from the back of the site at Lily Lane. Picture: Google Maps

The report said the proposal failed to comply with the council’s regulations for private open space and landscape area, and would create an “adverse streetscape”.

“The design changes proposed to facilitate the boarding house use of the development is not considered to be compatible with the character of the local area,” the report said.

“This is due to the physical bulk and scale, visual impact and amenity impacts to adjoining properties.

“Approval is not in the public interest.”

Single and two storey dwelling houses surround the proposed site, which is located 300m from Allawah train station.

Four submissions from nearby residents noted objections to the house being used as short-term rental accommodation, and they held concerns about safety and crime, noise, loss of view, traffic, privacy and character of the proposal.

The application said a communal laundry would be located near the lift on the lower ground level and there would be a communal living room on the ground floor that contained a fridge, cooktop and sink.

There would be four carparking spaces provided, and two motorcycle and bicycle spaces each.

The applicant was notified the council did not support the proposal and would be referred to the panel with a recommendation for refusal.