WORK on the first stage of the multi-million dollar redevelopment of the Tremain’s Mill site is close to being revealed, according to site owner Steve Birrell.
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Mr Birrell says the scaffolding will come down on the Victoria Stores building, which fronts Keppel Street, in the “next week or so”, revealing the restored verandah.
“The building will really pop then,” he said.
Development applications for work worth $600,000 (for the first stage) and $8.5 million have been lodged with council this year for the Tremain’s Mill site.
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The site, which was bought by Mr Birrell and Glenda Deans in 2015, sprawls over 8522 square metres and has three street frontages: Havannah, Keppel and Manilla.
Mr Birrell met with Member for Bathurst Paul Toole on the mill site on Friday morning to accept a $100,000 Heritage Near Me grant from the NSW Government – the second $100,000 grant from the Government for the redevelopment project in the past three months.
He said the new grant would go towards the cost of demolishing the building behind the Victoria Stores building to make way for a public toilets block for those using the site’s landscaped open space.
Mr Birrell said Bathurst Regional Council approval would be needed for the demolition of the building to make way for the amenities block.
He hopes to start planting new trees for the Tremain’s site’s landscaped open space in the next couple of weeks.
“This [the grant] will allow us to accelerate our project; keep things moving along,” he said.
Mr Toole said the redevelopment of the Tremain’s Mill site – which includes plans for an Australian Milling Museum, celebrating the nation’s flour milling history - was going to “open up Keppel Street”.
“It’s going to be something magical; something for the city of Bathurst to enjoy for years to come,” he said.
Mr Birrell hopes retailers will be operating from the restored Victoria Stores shops on Keppel Street by Christmas.