A COTTAGE in the Bathurst heritage conservation area is proposed to be demolished to make way for a six-unit development.
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The $1.3 million development is proposed for a residential site at 177 Seymour Street.
The site is a 2023 square metre allotment that currently contains a cottage, carport, storage outbuilding and a small garden shed, all of which are proposed to be knocked down.
If Bathurst Regional Council approves the development application (DA), the buildings would be replaced by six new dwellings under a six-lot strata development.
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The DA proposes to build four three-bedroom and two two-bedroom units, with four of the six units to have double garages.
One of the two-bedroom units would be visible from the street, with the purpose of being an "effective visual barrier" to obscure the other units.
The front wall of the unit is proposed to be set back 3.05 metres from the front boundary, while the verandah and porch would be set back 1.55 metres.
The cottage that the unit complex would replace was built as an investment property in 1905 by prominent Bathurst district landholder and investor John Gilmour.
The site has been deemed as "contributory" the streetscape in terms of its heritage value, however it is not listed as a heritage item in the NSW Heritage Register or in the Bathurst Local Environment Plan.
The Statement of Heritage Impact, prepared by Robin White of Calare Civil, also notes the poor condition of the cottage.
"The structural engineering report has identified major damage through every part of the building," she said.
"The existing building is a detached single-storey house constructed of various materials including timber weatherboard, fibre cement sheeting, fibre cement weatherboard and asbestos cladding, steel roofing on the walls, and some face brick.
"The walls and external timbers are badly weathered and damaged."
Ms White said that the cost of retaining the existing cottage is so high that it would impose an "unacceptable burden" on the owners.
She said the character of the new development would be in keeping with the existing and adjacent properties and it would have a similar height, mass and scale as surrounding buildings.
The Statement of Heritage Impact concludes that the proposed development would have no impact on the significance of the site or the broader heritage precinct.
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