Residents are up in arms about a development application for a historically significant building.
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The building, recently known as Sunshine Lodge, located at 5 Alice Street in Mittagong, was constructed in 1926 and was principally used as a boarding house.
In 2013 it was damaged by a fire while undergoing refurbishment and has been uninhabitable since that time. The current owners purchased the site in 2016.
According to the development application before Wingecarribee Shire Council, the plan is to demolish the existing building on site that is in a state of “disrepair and dilapidation”, and construct a new development consisting of a residential flat building and a boarding house. The building was formerly a convent built for the Order of The Sisters of St Joseph’s, a branch of the order founded by Saint Mary Mackillop. The site is listed within schedule five of the Wingecarribee Local Environmental Plan 2010 as “an item of local heritage significance".
In a letter to the Southern Highland News, resident Tim McCartney said he was concerned the demolition would “eliminate an important example of architecture and degrade this precinct”.
“This building deserves protection, honour and continued usefulness, rather than an obliterating destruction,” he said. “We should be appreciating the richness and diversity of our architecture and history within our community. We in the community need to voice our strong support to save this building which is under threat.” The site is about 200 metres north of the Mittagong shopping and business centre that is centred on the Old Hume Highway and Bowral Road. The residential flat building would include two one-bedroom apartments, 10 two-bedroom apartments and two three-bedroom apartments. The boarding house would provide 29 single boarding house rooms, one manager’s unit and one communal lounge. A single-level basement off Alfred Lane would provide a total of 28 car parking spaces for the use of residents, with the capacity for storage. The proposal will be on exhibition until Friday, July 13.
Visit https://datracker.wsc.nsw.gov.au and search the DA tracker number ‘18/0539’ to view the details of the application.
