CITY of Greater Bendigo Council should block plans for a 63-room hotel in Golden Square due to a lack of car parks and because the development does not suit the site, a new report recommends.
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Developers want to demolish a house at 471 High Street, and build the three-storey hotel with a basement and 29 car parks.
Twenty-one residents have objected to the hotel, with many citing concerns about car parking for guests and staff at the hotel and an adjoining cafe.
A report on the development will be presented to elected councillors for consideration at the council meeting on Monday night.
Council staff are concerned there would be too few car parks at the site, and too few pieces of nearby infrastructure like train stations for guests.
A number of objectors believed the hotel would make existing roads busier.
The council commissioned its own traffic review and found there would be no adverse traffic impacts on surrounding streets.
However, it did conclude there would not be enough car parking, in part because it was not close to public transport infrastructure.
Unlike at hotels closer to the centre of Bendigo, guests would not have access to inner city off-street parking and were more likely to have to park around the Golden Square hotel, the council's review found.
"The reliance on a significant number of on-street car parking spaces for the proposed hotel will adversely impact existing residents as there will be less on-street parking available," council officers told councillors.
Some were concerned about amenity issues including the loss of views and overshadowing, or that the block was too small to accommodate suggested plans.
They were also worry about a potential increase in noise from the site.
"There is likely to be an increase in noise as a result of the proposal due to the number of guests proposed to be accommodated and staff accessing the site, which would affect the amenity of the area," council officers said.
"While the café component of the development is oriented to the street corner, other outdoor areas including balconies, landscaped yards for use by guests and the pool are proposed adjacent to the neighbouring dwelling.
"It is expected that this property would be adversely impacted by increased noise from guests on a regular basis."
More matters coming before Bendigo's council on Monday:
Council staff also found the hotel would be out of step with other properties in the area.
Most were single-storey homes built in the 1960s and 70s, which were set back from roads that gave a sense of spaciousness, and where gardens gave a sense of spaciousness.
That said, council officers conceded the hotel had an interesting design, was on a major road and sat in an area where such a hotel would be acceptable.
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