Glenn Piper has won a battle to further expand the beachside Harbord Hotel, after three levels of assessment and scores of objections by locals.
Piper took the keys to the famous pub commonly known as the ‘Harbord Hilton” from industry legends the Thorpe family at the start of 2020.
Bringing success in real estate and property development, Piper invested circa $3 million into renovation of the ground floor public bar and dining service, reopening to the Northern Beaches populace in January 2021.
A year later, he lodged further plans for another $2.8 million project looking to convert the underutilised first floor into trading area for a host of purposes, including comedy nights, bands and guest speakers, with its own kitchen, a second bar, and an open balcony offering views of the Pacific that has previously not been available to patrons.
A DA was entered with Northern Beaches Council, resulting in over 100 official objections, including a submission on behalf of 48 stakeholders of an apartment block nearby, voicing concerns on matters from increased noise to a spike in anti-social behaviour.
The complaints cited that residents already have to tolerate loud behaviour and cars, and rubbish in the street near the pub, which is only two blocks from the very popular Freshwater Beach.
Another objection suggested that the “friendly local pub” was being “transformed” into a major commercial enterprise, which it was argued was inappropriate for its position in the centre of residential homes, but without mention that the historic pub predates most residences in the area, nor that for decades it held a reputation as a raucous party venue for hoards of travellers living and working around Manly.
The high number of objections prompted Council to pass the decision to the independent Northern Beaches Local Planning, which did grant consent in April 2022 but with numerous conditions. The local authority stipulated that the number of patrons be capped at 650, and most egregiously pronounced that noise from amplified music “must not be audible beyond the boundary of any residence between the hours of 10pm and 8am on any day”.
Piper was forced to appeal the decision and conditions in the Land and Environment Court. In a hearing last week it was offered that plans had gone to great lengths to mitigate noise levels, incorporating two-metre double glazed glass around the balcony.
Senior Commissioner Susan Dixon subsequently upheld the appeal, ruling in her judgment that no expert evidence had been presented to the Court “to support a refusal”.
But the affirmation was not completely without compromise, determining that patronage should be limited to 750 patrons, with 12 exceptions each year allowing 800 people, and a winding back of noise restraint to the existing Liquor & Gaming standard, that noise from licensed premises “shall not be audible within any habitable room in any residential premises between the hours of midnight and 7am”.
The area, particularly its northern neighbours Queenscliff and Manly, continues to be a mecca for travellers and short-stay visa holders, and greater capital investment in the “Hilton” may prove to be to the benefit of those in the area through more than a greater local watering hole.
