One of Orange's best-known restaurant sites is to be converted into housing under plans before Orange City Council.
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The former Eighteen 70 restaurant, which has also been known as The Harrison and the Welcome Inn, with cuisines including French and Greek food, would undergo major changes according to the development application currently on public exhibition.
The building is on the corner of March and Hill streets.
Under the plans the site would be subdivided into two lots with a new house built facing Hill Street.
"The existing restaurant is to be renovated, extended and converted into a dwelling," the DA states.
"Areas of the existing restaurant that are surplus to the needs of a dwelling, such as the commercial kitchen area and dining hall, are to be demolished.
"These building elements are recent additions to the building, not original portions of the building. The demolition returns the building to something more like its original form."
The work will also involve the removal of the verandah.
"Currently the verandah is a bull-nose form which is not original. A new verandah with straight roof sheeting [would] be installed to match the original verandah detail," it said. The plans include adding an ensuite bedroom to the existing building.
"Two additional bedrooms, bathroom, laundry and double garage are to be constructed to the west of the original building, connected via a subtle link," it said.
The second house would have three bedrooms with a two-spot garage built beneath the house.
It said council's heritage adviser had assessed the project and had been concerned about a skillion roof planned for the rear of the new house and suggested a gable roof would be more appropriate.
However the DA argues the rear of the roof would not be seen from the street.
The DA states a skillion roof would provide a lower profile than a gable roof and therefore 'visually less confronting' from the street.
"Historically, it was commonplace to extend a dwelling in this area with an attached skillion, therefore the skillion roof form is not uncommon and not out of place in this context," it said.
The site is 1188 square metres in size. It is planned to create two lots of 669 and 523 square metres.
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A heritage website listing heritage trails in NSW used by Cobb and Co coaches in the 1800s says the existing building was once a stopping place for the coaches.
"The Welcome Inn was built in 1870 and was a licensed inn for 14 years as well as a pick up point for Cobb and Co passengers," it says.
The DA is on public exhibition until Friday, May 7 when any public submissions would be assessed by council staff.
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