An application to build a new boarding house with 36 rooms is cause for concern in the Ingleburn community.
Campbelltown Council on November 19 sent letters to owners of adjoining properties, inviting them to comment on the proposal.
The deadline for submissions closes at midnight tonight, despite requests from sections of the Ingleburn business community for an extension of time.
According to information obtained by the South West Voice, council has received an application for the demolition of an existing building in Macquarie Street, in the central business district of Ingleburn.
The unknown applicant seeks permission to replace the building with two, four storey buildings for mixed use.
One building will have two retail stores on ground level and 30 boarding house rooms.
The second building will include parking and six boarding house rooms.
There will also be accommodation for an on site manager of the boarding house.
The current building is the retail premises of a Liquorland store.
Ingleburn chamber of commerce did not want to comment at this early stage of the process but sources close to the business body say that some of its members have major concerns about the boarding house proposal.
Coincidentally, the mayor of Campbelltown, Councillor Paul Hawker, is the guest speaker at the Ingleburn chamber’s monthly meeting tonight and may face some questioning over this boarding house proposal.
When the South West Voice asked Cr Hawker for comment, the mayor said he was not in a position to do so because he had not seen the details of the application.
Two other councillors approached by the Voice, former mayor Paul Lake and Cr Darcy Lound, told us that they were in the same position as the mayor.
Cr Darcy Lound spoke strongly against boarding house at the last council meeting. Cr Lake did not attend that meeting.
Boarding houses have become a big issue in the south west as some developers see good investment opportunities in this type of affordable housing.
Both Liverpool and Campbelltown Council have expressed concerns the law regarding boarding houses needs to be tightened up to ensure they are built in the appropriate locations.
Campbelltown Council at its last meeting called for a moratorium on boarding houses until the State Government had another look at the governing legislation.
