Council staff have been considering a development application lodged by JDM last October.

It proposes a major conversion of the former hardware warehouse which has been empty since Bunnings moved to its north Orange site in 2016.

The DA said all the JDM car dealerships on Bathurst Road in East Orange would shift to the new site on the eastern entrance to Orange.

"The business proposes to relocate to the former Bunnings site to centralise operations, accommodate future growth and improve overall function and efficiency," the DA said.

The 1.668 hectare site would become the showroom and a workshop and administration area for Mazda, Volvo, Renault and Suzuki new cars dealerships and for used cars.

Mr Davis was contacted for comment about the plan but said he would wait until the council had considered the DA on Tuesday night.

The building work would include constructing new internal walls to create spaces for the various dealerships, extensive signage for the brands, installing high-quality commercial shopfront glazing for each showroom and roller doors for the workshop areas.

There would also be extensive landscaping and alterations to the car parking area next to the building.

It would be surrounded by 1.8 metre-high security fencing.

It is expected the car dealerships would be open from 7am-7pm daily.

The DA said there were sufficient car parking spaces on the site to meet development requirements.

It also said there would not be any need for changes to roads to access the showroom complex.

Title deeds of the property show it was owned by orchardist Stanley Sommerville in 1943, taken over by Warren Sommerville in 1965 and was sold for development in 1998.

However the closure of the current car showrooms will further empty the Bathurst Road/Five Ways area following the relocation in December of the Holden and Audi dealerships to the Orange Motor Group's base on the edge of town.

It follows the closure and sale of the Five Ways Uniting Church and the closure of two shops.

And the Department of Primary Industries is moving from the area in October into new offices on Prince Street.