New Orange motel would have Colonel Sanders for a neighbour. Cock-a-doodle-do

October 30, 2023

By Peter Holmes

The waft of Colonel Sanders' 11 secret herbs and spices would greet guests staying at a new motel just off Bathurst Road, if a re-submitted development application (DA) is approved and construction goes ahead.

The DA, made public on Monday October 30, 2023, seeks consent for the redevelopment of land at 14 and 16 Elizabeth Street, Orange, "for the purposes of Hotel or Motel Accommodation".

The DA states that the project principally involves the following elements:

Demolition of the existing dwellings and outbuildings situated on 14 and 16 Elizabeth Street;
The provision of a two-storey motel consisting of nineteen (19) motel rooms and an on-site manager’s room, arranged in a L-shape with parking positioned to the rear south-east corner of the site;
The provision of eighteen (18) on-site parking spaces, including one accessible space;
A new vehicular access point provided within Elizabeth Street, located towards the southern boundary of the site;
Siteworks, landscaping and fencing;
Consolidation of the two parcels.

The consent authority is Orange City Council. The DA says the "development has been extensively amended in response to Council’s Request for Information (RFI) dated 26 September 2023."

Alterations included the deletion of unit 20 and the relocation of the ground floor storeroom, which were "a necessary consequence of pushing the building back into the site to achieve the required front setbacks.

"Deletion of unit 20 ensured the building was compliant in terms of bulk and scale requirements ... Reposition the whole building further into the site to provide a greater front setback."

The DA concedes that "strict application" of planning codes requires the site to have 22 car parking spaces (19 for guests and three for staff), while the project only has 18.

However it also says that the average peak occupancy for motels was 91%, and by using that figure instead of 100%, the motel would only be two spots short.

"Any excess parking on-street can be readily absorbed by the surrounding on-street parking network including the four (4) on-street car parking spaces along the site frontage," the DA states.

The Orange News Examiner took an in-depth look in September 2023 at the number of approved hotels or motels that had yet to be built in Orange.

The motel/hotel application will be on public exhibition from Monday, October 30, 2023 to Monday November 13, 2023.

During this period, any person may make written submission on this development proposal to Orange City Council.

A story about our city ...

During the day Orange's Bowen Community Technology Centre offers a free service to those who mightn't have a computer, printer or internet access. They might help with a resume, or to contact a government agency. In the afternoon dozens of primary school kids descend on the centre to get stuck into their homework.

They also may not have access to technology at home. Education is crucial in preparing the next generation to face the modern world. Orange City Council kindly donates the building. The woman behind this valuable community service is Paula Townsend. When there is enough money in the kitty, she is paid minimum wage. When there is not, she pays herself nothing.

But she always turns up. Even in school holidays, just to make sure the kids stay on the straight and narrow and have somewhere to go. The stress of running a community centre on occasional grants and donations - mostly for equipment , office supplies and insurances, not a minimum wage - is considerable.

Paula has been doing this for years. The bucket has a hole in it and there is never enough water to fill it up. She is no pushover - these computers are for work, not games - but when you spend time at the centre, you see the love the kids have for her, and she for them.

When adults have access to computers, documents and printers - something many of us take for granted - their worlds can open up. When kids can learn and get their homework done, their worlds open up too.

If you or your business are willing to help Paula Townsend, please click on the image above.

- Peter Holmes,

Editor, The Orange News Examiner