The Carrington Hotel in Peak Hill has undergone an incredible transformation in the last 24 years.
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And president of the Carrington Association Susie Collett says the work done already is only the beginning.
The 120-year-old hotel is a major landmark in the main street of Peak Hill, operational since 1894 and built in its current form in 1912, but then was gutted by fire in August 1997.
It was earmarked for demolition - a result that would have left an enormous hole in the main street and saw the loss of another historic building in the town - but the Peak Hill community banded together to save it.
The owner of the Carrington gifted the building and site to Parkes Shire Council to be held in Trust, and since then council and the community have been working together to retain and restore the building, largely made possible through fundraising and grants.
The aim has been to develop the site for the community to use with input by the community.
A discussion paper on a Carrington Hotel Business Case and Development Plan was presented at this month's Parkes Shire Council meeting, which quite fittingly was held in the Carrington on October 17.
Council's Director of Planning and Community Services Brendan Hayes said it is the first point where all of the ideas have been collated following extensive community consultation and will be presented back to the people of Peak Hill.
"It's a pleasure to deliver this report to the council and also to the members of the Peak Hill community," Mr Hayes said at the meeting.
"What we've done here is started a program of adaptive reuse for this wonderful building that we sit in.
"What we've developed through community consultation and also a bit of an assessment throughout with our consultant is to produce a discussion paper that will drive the development of an ongoing management plan.
"So this is the first point where we've got all our ideas together, then we go back to the community and just to make sure, clarify our points.
"It'll let them assist us to drive the future use and management of the Carrington."
It's been a long-time coming since work first began in 1999, kick-started by a grant of $100,000 from the NSW Heritage Office and additional and ongoing funding from council.
The Peak Hill community and council have embarked on a restoration program over three stages that has rehabilitated most of the building to enable the space to be operational for meetings, events and community gatherings.
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Stage 1 saw the exterior of the hotel restored, the building stabilised and a new roof installed between 2000 and 2002.
And what was now a pub with no beer was opened by the man himself, Australia's King of Country Music the late Slim Dusty in 2002.
Stage 2 occurred between 2009 and 2011 when another grant of $150,000 from the NSW Heritage Office and which was matched by Parkes Shire Council made works possible - which involved clean-up and demolition; repairing and replacing the timber floor; installing disabled access, disabled toilet and new front door; kitchen improvements; radiant gas heaters; stairway and mezzanine; and upgrading the verandah handrail.
The 'grand old lady' reopened downstairs in 2019 when stage 3 works began, and are currently being finalised.
A grant of $150,000 was received from the NSW Stronger Communities Fund, matched by council, to do further upgrades to upstairs; internal walkways; upgrades to ambulant toilet facilities; and external stair installation (as part of broader safety compliance works).
Ms Collett, who's a former mayor of Woollahra and came on board the Carrington committee and the Peak Hill Community Consultative Committee four years ago, said there was an enormous effort from the community to keep the hotel.
"They fought tooth and nail to stop it from being demolished," she said.
Ms Collett said it is important the people of Peak Hill and the committee who have worked so hard benefit from the project.
"It's important they know they've had an input and they're happy with its outcome," she said.
"It gives the community a sense of ownership.
"We have a fabulous relationship with council which is terribly important.
"The Carrington is fully reliant on funding and grants at this stage."
Council has engaged LCG Solutions to prepare a business case and development plan with the objectives of exploring business planning and the development of clear options at the site in a manner that is understood by the community and stakeholders.
The discussion paper summarises the background research and stakeholder consultation that has been completed to date. It's to provide base information to inform the preparation of the Carrington Hotel Business Case and Development Plan.
"It should be stressed that council and the local community have demonstrated significant drive to complete the extraordinary works to retain and commence the refurbishment of the site since the 1997 fire," Mr Hayes wrote in his report.
He also said the community and stakeholder engagement has indicated a strong desire for continued community volunteer involvement in the development, management and operation of the venue.
Future works on the site will target refining the building and site to align with functionality, such as installing a lift and upgrading the kitchen, and maximising the Carrington's natural opportunities of the building structure and content to support events, such as providing modern exhibition spaces and landscaping the rear courtyard to further enhance the area and utilise for larger events.
The discussion paper also highlighted that a key future direction is to ensure there's a sound management and operational model that encourages community access.
"The consultation process was extremely positive and supportive of the preparation of a business and development plan for the site," Mr Hayes said.
"The key outcome was a high expectation of continued community involvement in the project and a need to shift from a focus on restoration to a longer-term suitability approach from an operational, accessibility and development perspective."
Cr Louise O'Leary was pleased to see the paper.
"This has been a good thing to happen and we have it now in black and white, and we're able to go back to the community to discuss what's actually in the paper," she said.