Council is considering an application to develop land behind the National Australia Bank on the western side of Bellingen's urban centre.
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The quarter acre block bordered by Oak St and Halpins Lane, which was split off from the bank's site at 96-98 Hyde St a few years ago, would gain two residential dwellings and suite of small offices.
Currently it hosts a single-car garage that used to be a stable and three trees that would need to be removed, a mango, an avocado and a fig.
The infill development proposed by John Simon and Bruce Levy would see the block subdivided into three lots with a single storey building on each of them.
Fronting Oak St and directly behind the bank would be a suite of nine professional office pods ranging in size from 8.33sqm to 14sqm, each with its own walkway access.
On the corner of Oak St and Halpins Lane, an old outbuilding of the former Commercial Bank (built in 1912) would be adaptively converted into a one-bedroom home of 62sqm and restored to better reflect its heritage values.
Fronting Halpins Lane there would be a three-bedroom home with a floor area of 164sqm.
Bruce Levy said he and John Simon had spent several years working on finessing the blend of this development.
"Bringing two residences into the area, especially with the stables conversion which we think will be a fantastic home for a couple looking to downside and be close to all Bello town has to offer, is very exciting," he said.
"The office pods will be aimed at our many local professionals looking for a small self-contained office in town but with the amenities and privacy often lacking in town."
He added that they were disappointed about the loss of the trees but would be replanting across the site.
The DA documentation prepared by GeoLINK notes that the "additional, varied size housing in a central location supports improved choice and housing affordability in the Bellingen Shire" and "the addition of a micro-business park, consisting of small office pods, provides for a contemporary addition to the commercial precinct and opportunity for economic activity".
As the office premises require more parking than the site allows, the developers have also submitted a Voluntary Planning Agreement that would see them contributing $42,178 towards the upgrade of Halpins Lane and constructing five sealed parking spaces a block away on William St.
The draft of this agreement is on public exhibition with feedback invited until Monday November 9. It can be viewed on the Create website here and also in the business paper for the September council meeting.
The development application and its supporting documentation can found here.