Tremain's Mill masterplan revealed in a concept DA lodged with Bathurst council

Bathurst Regional Council this month received the proposal, which has been branded as a concept development application (DA) for the Tremain's Mill precinct that spans a 7440 square metre site in lower Keppel and Havannah streets.

The concept DA proposes no building works and has been delivered as a masterplan to inform council and the community of the ultimate intended development outcome across the site.

ALSO MAKING NEWS:

The Statement of Environmental Effects (SoEE), prepared by Georgia Sedgmen and Hugh Halliwell of Mecone, indicates that their client is seeking council's support for "the proposed mix of land use and maximum building envelopes".

The concept DA does not seek approval for any building works, and "all built form will be subject to a series of future detailed DAs".

Future plans for Tremain's Mill include hotel accommodation, residential accommodation, commercial and retail uses.

The accommodation is a major part of the proposed future development, with almost 100 rooms to be provided across the site in a combination of new and adaptive reuse heritage buildings.

This includes a nine-room heritage boutique hotel in the existing Victoria Stores building, a new 80-room boutique hotel, and a 10-room boutique hotel in the existing concrete silos.

Hotel reception and a guest library would form part of the commercial offering of the Tremain's Mill site, in addition to an exhibition space/art gallery, farmers market, an event and function space, an art house cinema, and a commercial kitchen.

A wide range of retail offerings would complement this, with 28 tenancies proposed.

The SoEE says this would include a bookshop, haberdashery, hardware, homewares, wool shop and knitwear; artisan baker, fromagerie, providore, fruit and vegetables; cafes; wine bar/enoteca; restaurants; a bottle shop; distillery; and a roof top bar located above timber silos.

Apartments, terraces and mews are also proposed to offer residential living in the precinct.

Currently proposed are 26 one-bedroom apartments, four two-bedroom apartments, 12 two-bedroom terraces, and four one-bedroom mews.

Car parking has also been considered.

The concept DA proposes to provide 46 residential on-site spaces, one accessible space, 19 on-street parking spaces in Havannah Street, bicycle accommodation, and an electric vehicle charging station.

It also promises the provision of an electric bus from Sydney's Circular Quay to Bathurst, which would seat up to 42 people.

"In order to facilitate the provision of electric bus transport from Circular Quay, Sydney to Bathurst, the applicant is agreeable to a discussion with council regarding a formal agreement, which will ensure an alternate mode of transport, as part of the development reducing the need for individual car usage," Mecone said in the SoEE.

The future redevelopment of the Tremain's Mill precinct would be carried out in stages, with the commercial and retail elements of the development to be delivered before any residential offering.

"Doing so will ensure activation of the precinct, providing a desirable, high-quality commercial and cultural precinct, ahead of residents occupying the site," Mecone said.

"Furthermore, delivering the commercial and public domain components first, is evidence of the applicant's intent to deliver the precinct as proposed without relying upon selling portions of the site for residential development in order to fund the critical commercial elements of the masterplan, including restoration of significant heritage items."

The staging of the development is proposed to be carried out in this order:

The lodgement of the concept DA is not the first council is hearing of the plans.

There was ongoing engagement with council over a nine-period, followed by a pre-lodgement meeting in November 2022, where the proposal was discussed with council at length.

"Major discussions centred around heritage, car parking, removal of buildings and this concept plan is a reflection of discussions between the applicant and council," Mecone said.

"The concept plan is consistent with the original planning intent and has taken into account council comments and concerns.

"It is also a plan that is sympathetic to the heritage significance of the site."

According to the SoEE, the proposed future development complies with the objectives of the B3 Commercial Core zone.

It also complies with the floor space ratio planning controls, however, it breaches the city's planning controls in relation to the height of new buildings.

Mecone said the height contraventions proposed primarily result from the challenges of working with the existing heritage context of the site and wider conservation area.

Some of the existing buildings on the site already exceed the height limit, one by nearly 19 metres, and the two new buildings would exceed the limit by 3.23 and 6.77 metres respectively.

While the buildings don't comply, it is believed they won't adversely impact the heritage of the area.

"The proposal will transform the precinct of an underutilised area of Bathurst CBD into a community and heritage focused precinct that prioritises, protects, respects, and celebrates the unique heritage character of the site and wider conservation area," Mecone said.

"The buildings have been designed to ensure that any adverse visual impact associated with the proposed built form above the height standard is limited and the existing silos remain the dominant visual feature of the precinct."

Mecone said that the concept DA will help to facilitate the ongoing conservation of the site for the long-term and has concluded that it should be recommended for approval.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: