17 Sherwin Avenue, Castle Hill NSW 2154

I am a resident of Castle Hill. I was made aware of this application to demolish the existing home and construction of a 'boarding house for low cost adults only accommodation'. I understand that the building will contain qty 29 rooms with up to 2 beds per room with small cooking facilities. I would like to know what the intended usage will be for this type of accommodation i.e. will it be used as a halfway house for newly released people from correctional facilities or for short term accommodation for tourists? In either case, it will greatly impact the family oriented character of the neighborhood and the application of this type should not be approved.

I’m a resident in Castle Hill. With increasing traffic in Castle Hill, I do not agree with any extra multi level housing without improving the infrastructure first.

We are home owners and residents of Castle Hill and we STRONGLY OBJECT to the proposed boarding house development. Boarding houses offer cheap accommodation for residents and little responsibility for them towards the neighbours of the premises. This proposal seeks 58 occupants on a tiny 714.5sqm housing lot. The proposed development is not suitable for Castle Hill. Sherwin Ave was not set aside for affordable housing by any tier of government and is only permissible through poor state legislation with loop holes. It should not be up to an individual not associated with the community to decide. There are a number of problems with the development. It fails to fit the character of the street: Sherwin Ave is characterised as family homes. No boarding houses or the alike. Lack of community responsibility: The proposal fails to address that there are 3 childcares nearby. Bear in mind, there is no requirement or ability for the boarding house manager to check the suitability of proposed lodgers through renting references. Loss of Parking: There will be only 16 on-site parking space. We are concerned about the safety to park and safe space for children living in the area. There will be 58 lodgers in the premises, with cars all have visitors over on the weekend that drive to get here. It's quite reasonable to assume that around 50 more cars will occupy the street! This will affect nearby residents whom already have had parking pressure increased over the past few years. Lack of ownership and responsibility: The proposal fails to address the operation of the boarding house, in particular with respect to the nature of the accommodation, any support services to be provided or the target group to be catered for. The scale of the development is excess, unplanned, unneeded and motivated from private interest rather than meeting any social obligations. Significant affected residents have voiced their objection to the proposal, showing this development is not compatible with the character of the local area – who better to judge than the residents already living in the area? There are so many community concerns we believe that the proposal must be refused.

We are homeowners in Castle Hill, very close to this proposed development. We have a number of concerns.
Sherwin Ave is a quiet and peaceful residential street. There are parks and child care centres nearby. There is a significant proportion of older residents. This is not a suitable area for a boarding house or half-way house.
No details have been given about criteria for lodgers. If it is designed as a half-way house, e.g. for those recently released from prison, then why would the manager only be on site during business hours? There would need to be social and support services in place for a half-way house. Who would enforce the curfew? How would inappropriate behaviour at night be managed?
There is not sufficient parking planned for the (large) number of rooms and lodgers. The roads are narrow here, so more street parking by lodgers and their visitors will make congestion even worse.
This development proposal has not been made with the welfare of the larger community in mind. It is not appropriate for this area and should not be approved by council.

This proposed development at 17 Sherwin Avenue is not in keeping with the neighbouring properties which all have been designed to be aesthetically pleasing. There is nothing attractive about this design. It looks like a pile of rather unattractive boxes piled on top of each other. The units are extremely small for 2 people, which could lead to arguments as the occupants will be far too close to each other.

I understand the need for low cost housing, but whatever is designed should appropriate for the area. This is too high, and too many units for the surrounding area. There is not enough parking on the narrow street for the number of additional cars this would generate.

Please refuse this application as it stands at the moment.

As long term residents(36 years) and close to this area we have to agree. However, unless you can get the Council on side and they share your views and they are willing to push back and pay the legal cost it could still end up with Land and Environment Court--Good Luck.
Greg N.