APPROVAL has been given for the demolition of homes once occupied by an Albury mayor and a tennis champion.
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Albury Council officers this month backed plans to flatten the houses of John Roach and Margaret Court.
Mr Roach was mayor of Albury for 12 years and served on the council from 1959 to 1999.
He died in January, 2013, with his Wilson Street home sold at auction for $500,000 in August that year.
The buyers have decided to demolish the home with an application made to the council on their behalf by Modem Construction Group, an Albury company.
Modem director Neil Sawyer said efforts had been made to keep the three-bedroom, two-bathroom house which was built by Mr Roach's parents in 1957.
"They were going to retain the home, but after many plans it couldn't be done," Mr Sawyer said.
He said the new house would be an "upmarket home" that "would not be ostentatious".
It will feature three large bedrooms and a spacious garage.
Some of the existing windows will be integrated into the new house.
Mr Sawyer said he expected demolition to begin next month with temporary fencing to be put up at the property which is diagonally across the street from St David's Uniting Church.
Pending the approval of a development application, the new single-storey home is expected to be built by over nine to 10 months.
Mr Sawyer said the house was unoccupied after having hosted tenants since it was sold in 2013.
A tree will be removed from the front yard as part of the work, with other foliage to remain.
Meanwhile, the council has also given backing to the demolition of the childhood home of Margaret Court in Ebden Street, South Albury.
The fibro house was occupied by Court during the years she honed her tennis ahead of winning a record number of Grand Slam titles.
It was moved 800m east to its present location after having been opposite the Albury grass tennis courts when home to Court.
The home's joint owners, couples from Albury and Melbourne, plan to replace it with townhouses and units.
Demolition is expected to occur in the new year.
Court told The Border Mail in October she believed the home would have been a good museum.