But, as efforts to beautify Wollongong’s notorious west Crown Street area ramp up, it appears the largely untouched drinking establishment is keen to get in on the action.

Dicey Riley’s hopes to build an expansive new deck and beer garden area at the back of the early 1900s hotel, to allow for outdoor dining and to add to the “appeal of the pub to a wider range of clientele”.

“An outdoor seating area is the most commonly requested alteration to the existing pub and the new owners feel that were they to accommodate these requests, they could ensure the ongoing viability of the venue as a public hotel, ensuring the ongoing heritage conservation of the streetscape within what is currently a rundown part of the Wollongong cityscape,” a proposal being considered by Wollongong City Council said.

An old keg room at the back of the pub, which the owners say contains asbestos and is in poor condition, would be partly demolished to make way for the deck and extra car spaces.

While Dicey Riley’s can currently trade until 2am each day, the proposal says the deck would be open until 12am at the latest on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.

A vertical garden is proposed to be grown over high screening walls which would be built around the deck.

The existing hotel would remain unchanged apart from the keg room reduction, which would allow for direct access from the main bar to the new deck.

Two Norfolk Pines, marked as “significant trees” would be unaffected by the plans. 

The pub was sold in 2014 for $5.4 million and in recent times has attracted more alternative patrons and housed some of the bands which once would have played at the Oxford Tavern.

In 2016, the street art festival Wonderwalls made spacial effort to focus on the west Crown Street area, with artists Scott Nagy and Krimsone tasked to paint the side of the hotel.

Additionally, the council have announced future plans to transform the run down edge of Wollongong’s CBD by creating a better “arrival precinct”.