Hotel to split into motel, tavern

Press, 14 August 1989, Page 9

Hotel to split into motel, tavern

The Shirley Lodge Motor Hotel has been given permission by the Licensing Control Commission to split its facilities.

A motel and restaurant will function on one site, and a tavern, smaller than the present bar complex, will be run next door.

To separate the businesses, part of the existing hotel will be demolished and a masonry wall built. 1

The commission granted the application by Dominion Breweries without a public hearing, because no objections were received. The commission was told there had been a considerable downturn in the occupancy of the accommodation over the last five years. “This is borne out by the returns submitted which show an occupancy rate of 48 per cent in 1983 and only 27 per cent in 1988. The accommodation comprises 63 motel type units at the rear of the hotel site,” the commission said in its decision.

The tavern complex will have three bars. “Although the proposed tavern is larger than we would normally approve in a suburban area, it has been operating for a considerable time in its present format and the proposed alterations will result in reduced bar areas,” the commission said.