Gormans Hill boarding houses plan approved by Bathurst council

The proposal was on the agenda for Wednesday's council meeting, but prior to that residents used public forum to reiterate the concerns from their submissions.

READ MORE: Two-storey boarding houses proposed for Gormans Hill

Two speakers, Russell Street residents Phillip Warner and Dennis White, fear that the development would attract people incompatible with the current demographics of Gormans Hill.

Mr Warner said the development appeared to be aimed at students and transient people and he didn't feel that the proposed managing agent would be sufficient to monitor for behaviour.

"Over the years I've had university students that have lived either side of me and this has resulted in a number of times having to pick up people on my front lawn following parties," he said.

"I know in the documents it talks about monitoring, etc, of the people that are there, but I can't see any guarantees.

"The talks of a managing agent, who is responsible to 6pm in the evening. Problems with the university students usually occur after 6pm, so I've got issues with that."

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Mr White had similar concerns about the potential residents and spoke of the risk it could pose to the number of children in the area from the childcare centre, high school and soccer fields.

"When I first moved into that local area there was a lot of criminal activity," he said.

"... That's all cleared up. There's hardly any incidents there now."

Mr Warner and Mr White also said the height of the building would not be in keeping with the rest of the streetscape, and that the additional residents would exacerbate existing parking issues.

Despite their concerns, council approved the DA unanimously, as per the recommendations of senior staff.

The boarding houses will be built at 14 Russell Street, once the existing dwelling and shed are demolished.

Combined, the two boarding houses would offer 14 bedrooms and be able to house up to 18 lodgers in a mix of single and double rooms.

Parking for seven vehicles is proposed for the rear of the property, including accessible spaces and electric vehicle charging points.

Each lodger of the premises is required to sign an occupancy agreement and house rules agreement upon occupation of the boarding house, and must stay for a minimum of three months.

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