'Older than Perth': Historic pub unnecessarily demolished for light rail in Sydney's west

Sydney locals have been stunned to hear that a historic 200-year-old pub that was demolished three years ago for the light rail development in Sydney's west will no longer be needed for the project.

The Royal Oak Hotel on Church Street in Parramatta, which was built in 1813, is one of Sydney's oldest pubs.

It was demolished in 2020 to make way for the light rail route despite opposition from locals.

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Transport for NSW confirmed to 2GB's Ben Fordham Live the pub is no longer part of the light rail route.

North Paramatta residents action group member Suzette Meade told Fordham a "pub older than Perth" was wiped off the map.

"We could see the light rail clearly didn't go through the pub… Here we are, we have an empty yard sitting there and a light rail clearly not going through it," she said.

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Paramatta lord mayor Sameer Pandey told 2GB council worked hard to prevent the demolition and considered other options at the time.

"It is disappointing for the community who worked so hard to save it," Pandey said.

He said they were considering turning the site into a park.

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