Carramar boarding house: Neighbours fight boarding house plans labelling it a ‘future Bronx’
Plans for a five-building boarding house complex in southwest Sydney has angered residents, who saying it will turn the area into a ‘future Bronx’ by attracting crime and lowering house values.
Fairfield
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Plans for a boarding house complex - including five two-storey buildings - has been met with strong opposition from neighbours who fear it will turn the area into “a future Bronx”.
At least a dozen residents have opposed the development of a 52-person boarding house at 8 Ronald St, Carramar, claiming it will jeopardise safety, devalue properties and promote crime.
The $3.3 million proposal would see five two-storey buildings on a 1790sq m site, according to the planning proposal. The buildings will feature 26 boarding rooms, including another for a site manager.
Each room would accommodate two people, and have its own kitchenette and bathroom. There would also be an 80sq m communal space, and space for 14 cars on site.
The site - neighbouring residential houses and apartments - currently has a single-storey home and granny flat. These would be demolished under the proposal.
“The impact on the suburb will be negative in every aspect, parking, noise, congestion, and possibly crime,” one person wrote in a submission to Fairfield Council. “I feel that a development of this kind … would have a negative impact on neighbouring properties, including the value of the properties.”
Another neighbour submitted it would change the “quiet and non-problematic” character of the neighbourhood.
“This development is going to house a number of unemployed individuals,” they said. “We have kids and worry for their safety and the wellbeing of their home environment.”
A third rallied against the amount of low-income housing being built in the area.
“There are already several department of housing developments in the neighbourhood,” they said. “The council appears to be creating a future ‘Bronx’.”
A few people said the site was flood prone and therefore should not be developed.
“I object to the development as it is in a flood affected area,” one submission said. “The land has a huge stormwater pipe running through it that is not shown in the plans.”
A total of 12 people have made submissions on the proposal - all of them in opposition.
Carramar is recognised by the Australian Bureau of Statistics as being in the top five per cent of disadvantaged suburbs in Australia.
The development will help put a roof over people’s head, applicant Environa Studio said in planning documents.
“The proposed development increases the diversity in the residential accommodation available locality and provides a more affordable option for lower income earners,” they said.
“It contributes to the diversity of housing … by providing a more affordable housing alternative to traditional detached single dwellings.”
The proposal will finish public exhibition on February 13, before a determination is made.