Albury councillors this week were briefed on a development application for the Kiewa Street property, which has been vacant in recent years and is proposed to be replaced by two, four bedroom homes.

It is recognised as a local heritage item after being built in the 1890s as the residence for former member for Albury and mayor Tom Griffith before being converted to a private hospital where former Prime Minister Billy Hughes and his wife were taken following a car accident at Ettamogah in April 1936.

In 1949, Murray Valley Coaches acquired Meramie and turned it into a motel.

It was most recently an accommodation option for students attending Charles Sturt University when it was located in central Albury.

In examining the potential to demolish the property, the applicants, Ian and Joy Clark, engaged a registered heritage architect Noel Thomson, to explore its potential reuse, and concluded the building had been significantly altered and was in poor condition.

“The proposed demolition of (the property) and replacement with ‘contemporary' styled dual occupancy residences is appropriate for the heritage conservation area,” the report said.

Albury planning department team leader David Christy said nine submissions had been received opposing the plans which have been referred to council’s external heritage adviser.

The deadline for submissions has been extended.

“There are some deficiencies in the heritage impact statement, but we won’t go into those in detail until we get our comment back from the heritage expert,” he said.

“We do have some concerns around design and character of the proposed new dwellings.

“The key issues raised in the submissions are concerns regarding the demolition of the heritage item and the heritage significance being understated.”

Cr David Thurley raised concerns about an intense development in a heritage area.

“A couple of doors down you’ve got a beautiful house on the corner and suddenly are going to try and stick two four bedroom houses here,” he said.

“It does sound like a little bit of a stretch to me.”