Wagga's Hampden Bridge beams to be put into The Black Swan Hotel

The Black Swan Hotel has lodged several development applications with Wagga City Council, proposing the conversion of the existing residence living room to a new commercial kitchen and the conversion of the existing kitchen into a storeroom.

The proposal also includes the demolition of some internal brick walls to open up the hotel lounge area and to create a better link from the bar to the outdoor covered area.

Its owner also hope to add on accommodation, including four transportable buildings, three containing four sole occupancy units and one containing two accessible sole occupancy units, each having an attached car park.

Manager Ellie Menz said while the changes will make a world of difference to the building, they want to ensure the character of the pub remains the same.

"We have a really good community spirit here, we have our regulars who come here all of the time - we've got something really special out here," she said.

With plans to add in a second fire place and support beams from the old Wagga Hampden Bridge, it's hoped the hotel will feel more true to itself than ever before.

"We have access to a few beams from the Hampden Bridge so we are going to be putting them in, obviously, the river is a big part of this part of Wagga," Miss Menz said.

With plenty to love, the hotel has attracted a strong crowd of regular customers in recent times and the new plans will enable the hotel to embrace the demand.

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"We've run out of floor space, as of Friday night we're really busy, we've got no tables or seats left," Miss Menz said.

"It's just about being able to create more floor space to enable people to come in, especially when we have functions."

The expansion of the kitchen will enable families to come in and have dinner, and it is the first thing the owners want to knock over.

"Our main focus at the moment is the kitchen," Miss Menz said.

"We have so much space to use but It's just a matter of making it a nice environment."

Miss Menz said another demand has been for accommodation.

"We have a lot of people contacting us wanting accommodation," she said.

"Wagga is a bit of a hub for the Riverina and we get a lot of events and there's not enough accommodation.

"We also get a lot of workers coming to Wagga who doesn't want big family rooms but just want somewhere safe to stay."

If approved by the council, the pub would continue operating as normal while works are under way, with estimates they should be completed by the end of 2024.

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