THE Fat Lamb Hotel at Eugowra is set for a rebuild, with plans to restore the historic pub gaining momentum after years of setbacks.
The hotel’s latest chapter began after fire struck the property.
The rebuild has since been a long and complicated process, with the owners working through planning, paperwork, and the many hurdles that come with bringing a historic pub back to life.
John Agustin, Michael Miles and Ben Mulley are now working their way through the lengthy process of bringing the hotel back to life, with plans to rebuild the pub in a similar design to the building that previously stood on the site.
The new Fat Lamb will include a large dining and sitting area, a kitchen and a substantial outdoor entertaining space, as well as a large outdoor area where families can enjoy the pub as well.
The owners are deliberately avoiding putting a firm timeline on the project, having already learned that rebuilding a historic pub is not quite as simple as putting up a building and opening the doors.
“We want to try and get it out of the ground,” they said.
“We don’t want to put a timeline on it. There’s been timelines on it before.”
There is, however, one unofficial deadline that has been mentioned, with one of the owners joking that he is planning to celebrate his 80th birthday with a beer at the rebuilt pub.
“So, we’ve got a long way,” he said.
While there is still plenty of work ahead, the owners say they have made significant progress over the past three months, with much of the groundwork involving the paperwork, planning and approvals that have to be completed before construction can properly begin.
“We’ve made a lot of progress in the last three months,” they said.
A recent pre-development application meeting with Cabonne Council has also given the project a significant boost, with the owners describing the council’s response as overwhelmingly positive.
“We had a red-hot meeting with council the other day,” they said. “They were super keen.”
The owners said they were particularly encouraged by council’s enthusiasm for the project and its potential to contribute to the growth of the area.
While they still have plenty of boxes to tick, they said the meeting left them feeling that the project was finally moving in the right direction.
The process has not been without its challenges, with the owners choosing to tackle much of the work themselves rather than paying others to navigate every step of the process.
“We’re not millionaires,” they said.
Instead, they have been following up different avenues and working through the requirements themselves, with the approach beginning to pay off.
The three part-owners also said the project has benefited from the support of architect Graham Neaves, who first made contact through the Fat Lamb’s Facebook page.
After meeting the owners and visiting the site, Mr Neaves quickly became an important part of the rebuilding process, with the owners describing him as a “powerhouse” who has continued to work through plans, reports and other requirements.
“We’d be rooted without him,” they said. “He hasn’t stopped.”
The owners said Mr Neaves had often gone beyond what was strictly required, continuing to help them work through the various stages of the project and providing helpful input along the way.
The determination to bring the Fat Lamb Hotel back has also been matched by significant interest from the community, with the hotel’s Facebook page attracting tens of thousands of views on some posts.
For the owners, that interest is a reminder that the re-opening of the Fat Lamb is bringing back a place that has been part of the local community and history for generations.
They are hopeful that community support will continue as the project progresses.
“We’ve got to get it out of the ground to show people that it is happening,” they said.
The hotel itself has a long history, with the owners believing the original building dates back to around 1862, although they are still piecing together the exact details of its past.
One of the most fascinating surviving pieces of the hotel’s history, however, is not something that needs to be dug up at all.
The original cellar remains beneath the site, providing a glimpse into how the pub once operated and offering a potential feature for the new building.
The stonework itself is believed to have been constructed by Italian stonemasons, and the owners hope to incorporate the original cellar into the rebuilt pub, potentially installing a glass floor that would allow future visitors to look down and see the historic structure beneath their feet.
For now, however, the owners are focused on getting through the remaining stages of the process and finally getting the building out of the ground.
There is still plenty of work to do, but after everything the project has already thrown at them, they are determined to keep moving forward.
“It is going ahead,” they said.
“We’re progressing.”
And, if all goes according to plan, the Fat Lamb will eventually welcome locals and visitors through its doors once again, with a new generation of stories waiting to be written.
One thing is certain, the owners are hoping to raise a glass to the hotel’s return long before their 80th birthdays.
