Commercial Hotel has proposed a modern design for the new accommodation wing

Susanne Hutton, owner of Stephenson’s Mill, is mostly pleased with the exterior restorations, but is concerned with the possible construction of a new accommodation wing.

“The new extension at the rear of the original building – with its height and scale, ultra-modern appearance and placement between the original heritage hotel and the heritage Stephenson's Mill – leaves me with concern,” Ms Hutton said.

The hotel is a heritage-listed building in the Upper Lachlan Local Environmental Plan 2010. This means the application does not require state approval.

However, the Office of Environment and Heritage shows the Commercial Hotel contributes significantly to the streetscape architectural quality.

Heritage architect Hector Abrahams agreed with Ms Hutton. “This extension is not a sympathetic addition to the heritage hotel … it appears to be just a flat surface with none of the articulation of windows, parapets et cetera of the old portion of the building,” he said. 

Hotel owner Peter Griffiths believed he had the support of the council's heritage architect, and had completed a heritage report.

“It is an icon in the region and we don't want to do anything but bring it back to life,” Mr Griffiths said.

“The additions do not have to mirror the era when it was built, but reflect today’s architecture and the architecture it is joining.

“We don't need to copy architecture of the 1800s when we are [in] 2018.”