Plan for cafe laneway behind Sydney’s Robin Hood pub

Artist’s impressions of the proposed laneway behind the Robin Hood pub in Waverley.
Artist’s impressions of the proposed laneway behind the Robin Hood pub in Waverley.

The family that owns the Robin Hood pub in Sydney’s east want to create a retail laneway behind it similar to Broadway’s Kensington St, with new restaurants and cafes and even bee hives on the roof.

Daniel Whitten, whose family has owned the heritage-listed building at the famous Waverley intersection for 40 years, wants Charing Square to include up to eight eateries with 29 apartments above.

Urban planner Stephen Moore of RobertsDay says: “Charing Square will also be a model for local sustainability with current ideas including water harvesting, solar energy and even bee hives on the roofs that may be utilised by local cafes.”

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Robin Hood Sydney development

Daniel Whitten, licensee of the Robin Hood Hotel in Waverley, wants to convert the area occupied by the pub’s bottle shop and neighbouring property into a Kensington St Chippendale-style laneway development. Picture: John Appleyard.

Whitten has presented the proposal to Waverley Council for consideration.

“The Robin Hood is a great suburban local pub and we want to keep it that way, but the streetscape is dead,” Whitten says.

Robin Hood Sydney pub

Artist’s impressions of the Robin Hood redevelopment.

“It’s a C-grade shopping strip and we want to bring in some cafes that will appeal to people walking their dogs at 7am through to people wanting to drop into a wine bar of a night.”

The plan follows their purchase of a site behind the bottleshop between Bronte Rd and Carrington Rd.

Robin Hood Sydney

Artist’s impressions of the Robin Hood redevelopment at Charing Cross.

The proposal transforms 30% of the land into a publicly accessible laneway and plaza. See the plans at www.charingsquare.com.au.

This article from the Wentworth Courier originally appeared as “Plan to create Kensington St-style laneway behind Robin Hood pub”.