The proposed DA 18/0539, now with council for the full demolition of the iconic heritage listed building known as Sunshine Lodge or the former Sisters of St Joseph Convent and construction of huge boarding house and a separate flat complex, is so much out of character with the surrounding area and in my opinion is offensive.

It seems there has been no respect given to this historic building or the people that live in the area it will sit.

I wonder why the developer has not used a bit of creativity to include the old historic facade in the development which in my opinion would be a better outcome for the heritage area.

I hope council in its wisdom will look at this DA very closely before making any decisions, remembering the monstrosity that got passed years ago in Station Street, Mittagong.

We certainly need to learn from our mistakes. Isn’t that one of the reasons we have a Development Control Plan set in place to stop this from happening again.

Should council approve the demolition of this historic landmark building and allow this development to happen, well we may as well get rid of the area’s DCP, cancel our heritage conservation areas and remove our heritage buildings from any lists.

This is our heritage show it respect by saving it for future generations.

The council will be judged by the community if they allow the building to be demolished.

Iam sure there would be government guidelines set in place within the State Environmental Planning policies to ensure that this type of development cannot be approved if it is out of character with the surrounding area or within a heritage conservation area.

Council needs to investigate all areas to ensure this DA is refused for the demolition of our heritage.