Council reprieve for rotunda

A Lake Macquarie hotel will be given the option of buying a parcel of community-owned land, on which a previous owner illegally built a rotunda to host weddings.

Lake Macquarie Council last night agreed to reclassify the land near the Apollo Hotel, on the Pacific Highway at Charlestown to allow the site to be sold to the hotel owner.

The council has been accused of creating a double-standard because similar decisions have gone against residential property owners.

But Mayor, Jodie Harrison says every decision is made on an individual basis, and in this case there are safety issues in the hotel's favour.

"Having bush right up against a large building, or any building isn't safe, so the clearing of that land and making it useable is actually a safety issue," she said.

"For that reason we decided to move towards it being provided to the Apollo on a permanent basis."

"Basically council is not using that land at all, it's not able to be easily accessed by anybody at all so we think that's a reasonable solution for the Apollo and for council."

Source: ABC News, 27 November 2012